In the second stanza, the speaker says that he ‘watered’ and ‘sunned’…

Read the poem and answer the questions that follow.

I was angry with my friend;

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I watered it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.

Till it bore an apple bright.

And my foe beheld it shine,

And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,

When the night had veiled the pole;

In the morning glad I see;

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

In the second stanza, the speaker says that he ‘watered’ and ‘sunned’ his wrath. These words present his anger as

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → a plant that he tends and helps to grow

To tend a plant is to look after it.

A gardener waters a plant and keeps it in the sun so that it grows. The speaker does the same with his anger.
He says, “And I watered it in fears” and “I sunned it with smiles”. Then “it grew both day and night”.
Later it bears an apple, and the foe dies under a tree. So his anger is shown as a plant that he feeds every day.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 1: a wound that heals slowly with time — Incorrect. Opposite meaning: A healing wound becomes smaller. The speaker’s anger becomes bigger. The poem says “my wrath did grow”.

Option 3: a storm that passes after rain and sunshine — Incorrect. Misread: The tears and smiles are like rain and sun. But they help the anger grow. The anger does not pass away like a storm.

Option 4: a burden that he hides from his friend — Incorrect. Wrong link: He hides his anger from his foe, not from his friend. He told his friend about his anger, and it ended.