How is the time period in which William Blake wrote reflected in the poem "A Poison Tree"?

“A Poison Tree,” written by William Blake, was published
in the Song of Experience in 1794.  The first
person narration describes two different situations concerning extreme anger.  Blake
expresses the results of holding in this anger and not communicating with the subject of
the fury:

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.

An English poet,
painter, and printer, Blake lived and worked in London.  This was a revolutionary time
in England. The American Revolution was done and the country was recuperating
economically.  In 1794, the society in which he lived greatly influenced his writing. 
The French Revolution was inspirational in the sense that ordinary people were able to
seize power.During this era, London became urbanized. 

The
industrial revolution entered Blakes' world in the late
18th century.  Blake did not like the emphasis on machines along with sexually
transmitted diseases.  As Blake matured, his disgust with society grew. The conditions
faced by people allowed society to decay physically, morally, and sexually.  Blake
tended to be pessimistic about London’s progress and almost without hope at this
time.

Another influence on Blake’s
writing was his unusual religious views He rejected established religion,
in part because the Church did not keep children from being forced to work. Child labor
was common and dangerous. Blake discovered that money was spent on church buildings
while children lived in poverty.  To Blake, this made a charade of the love and care
which should be the focus of the Christian religion. Blake believed in the Bible but
despised the Church of England.  

Insurgents like Blake
felt that the Church’s policies smothered the “evil” emotions in people, such as anger
and frustration.  “A Poison Tree” was written to indicate that Blake believed that
suppressing anger based on the teaching of the Church would only enhance the resentment
felt by the person.  The original title of the poem was “Christian Forbearance.  The
English government forbid radical action and began to persecute the
dissenters.

Blake was not popular during his lifetime. 
Only after his death, did critics re-examine his work and place him among the great
English writers.