Language, form and structure

• Poem is written in quatrains, and the metre alternates between iambic and trochaic tetrameter
• Poem makes allusions to Biblical story of Adam and Eve, and to fairy tales, such as Snow White
• Simple language throughout the poem makes it seem as if it is a parable aimed at children
• Subject matter is more complex; simple language is deceptive
• Speaker does not realise how he has been corrupted by his own anger