Blake's poem has a more ambiguous tone, whereas Lamb's contains the clear message that envy is wasted emotion. Blake uses first person throughout, Lamb only uses it once in the final stanza.

This video shows a reading of ‘Envy’ by Mary Lamb. Her poem compares an envious person to a rose tree. The poem’s content, ideas, language and structure are explored. Comparisons and ...

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. Mary Lamb compares an envious person to that of a rose tree, suggesting that a rose wanting to be like a different ...

Like such a blind and senseless tree/ As I've imagined this to be' Envy is presented as having the power to blind us to the good in our own selves. Theme Nature: The poem uses images from the ...

Mary Lamb wrote stories and poems, often for children Mary Lamb was born in 1764 and died in 1847. She and her brother Charles Lamb wrote collections of stories and poems together, often for ...

Discontent' and 'fret' are repeated twice each to emphasise how unhappy we are if we waste energy on envy.

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. Speaker refers to personal experience suggesting she may have felt jealousy herself. The only use of first person in ...