Review the metaphor.
i was angry with my foe:
i told it not, my wrath did grow.

and i water’d 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,

which best explains the meaning created by the metaphor?

the speaker's anger grew bigger than a tree.

the speaker thinks preserving the natural world is more important than holding a grudge.

the speaker nurtured his anger as one would nurture a tree.

the speaker's foe tried to harm his prized tree.

The correct answer and the sentence that best explains the meaning created by the metaphor in William Blake's "A Poison Tree" (1794) is C. The speaker nurtured his anger as one would nurture a tree.

Blake uses extended metaphor to make it easier to understand how his wrath grew, like a plant or a tree by his actions. There are several references to this fact: he watered it in fears and tears like you would water a plant. His anger grew like a plant and it bore fruit: an apple. Blake chose this fruit for the religious reference: It was the fruit that the devil used to tempt Adam and Eve. This fruit of anger is poisoned for the foe that beholds it shine.