Review: The Sick Rose by William Blake

 The Sick Rose

William Blake

 

O Rose, thou art sick:

The invisible worm,

That flies in the night

In the howling storm,

 

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy;

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.


 

https://www.almanac.com/plant/roses#

 

    ‘The Sick Rose’ is a poem written by William Blake. The poem was included in the Songs of Innocence which published in 1794. The Sick Rose consists of two stanzas and four lines in each and the rhyme is A B C B. The poem is using old English spelling.

    The poem contains some personification and metaphors. In the words ‘O Rose you are sick’. ‘Rose’ means as woman or love. The metaphors are, invisible, howling, and bed. This poem is also using a lot of symbols, such as ‘worm’ which represents the death or sexual lust of men. The poem tells a story about a rose, a sick rose exactly, that unaware about its sickness. The rose got infected by the worm, but the rose is too naïve to realize it.

    From the lyrics of this poem, we can see that Blake refers to the role of the ‘invisible’ worm, which is trying to find a ‘bed’ for pleasure and joy. We can interpret that the worm represents a man who is looking for a woman to satisfy his sexual desire. When the rose is lulled by its relationship with the worm, the rose will fall deeper and unaware that the worm probably just plays with it. Because basically, the nature of the worm is absorbing the essence of the plant, but in the end it will bring the plant into death. The rose will be destroyed by the worm.

    I personally like this poem. Despite the short lyrics it has, the meaning is very deep. I think the moral value of this poem is relevant for the youth or people who are in love. The writer is also intended this poem especially for woman, because as he conveys in the poem, the rose that is sick must be aware about its condition, as well as women, they should be aware too.

    Overall, I can conclude that this poem wants to convey a strong meaningful moral value. Indeed a romance can be so great and provocative, but love is not just about pleasure or joy. If we only focus on pleasure, the beautiful romance will turn to destroy us. We should not be too complacent by excitement.

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