The Sick Rose

Submitted To Submitted By

Tahsina Yasmin Kowsar Ahamed ID:171-10-1453

Associate Professor
Department of English
Daffodil International University
Sharmin Khan Juthi ID: 201-10-639
Romantic Poetry
ENG 224
Department of English
Daffodil International University
 WILLIAM BLAKE
 William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter,
and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a
seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. What
he called his prophetic works were said by 20th-century critic Northrop Frye to form
"what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English
language". His visual artistry led 21st-century critic Jonathan Jones to proclaim him
"far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". In 2002, Blake was
placed at number 38 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. While he lived in
London his entire life, except for three years spent in Felpham, he produced a
diverse and symbolically rich œuvre, which embraced the imagination as "the body
of God or "human existence itself"
The Sick Rose
BY 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.
 Introduction

 The poem The Sick Rose by William Blake is quite deep, difficult to
understand and full of various themes. We cannot conclude a single meaning
to this poem. I have read a dozen of online and offline resources and will try
to throw light on most of the themes which can be drawn from this poem.
 The poem is very short having just two stanzas having 4 lines each. The
rhyme scheme is ABCB DEFE. The poet uses personification throughout the
poem. As this verse is published in The Songs of Experience, we find dark
themes and bitter reality.
Summary

 The poem describes a sick rose and a worm that manages to locate
the rose's "bed of crimson joy." The worm destroys the rose with his
"dark secret love," a not so subtle reference to some kind of
destructive sexuality.
 Analysis
 Symbol:

“O rose, thou art sick’
William Blake uses “rose” as a symbol that represent something beautiful, sweet,
romantic and something lovely. “rose” represents about love too so there is impossible
no sex in love, but in this situation is very taboo for young girl has sex if she has not
married yet but it happened in this poem.

 “The flies in the night”

William Blake wrote “The flies in the night” as a symbol of something. Normally,
people will sleep in the night and traditionally, many people believe night is the best
time for demon to come out from the dark sky and try to haunted the people. They fly
away in the sky come to house by house, one by one to tempt all people to do some
sin, the weak one will fall in their flattery which give us happiness in short time.
 Symbol

 “And his dark love”

William Blake writes as a symbol of something bad. William Blake describes a
girl which is very weak, easy to temped and also stupid. In this poem we know,
girl in the name of love want to give anything to someone who she love,
including her virginity. However, the man just want to harness the girl as his
sexuality impingement.
 Allusion
 “The invisible worm”
William Blake is one of religious man, he is a good catholic. This sentence is a allusion which pick up
from bible. In this line, William Blake wants to desicribe how weak women when they teased by men
with the carnality how wet she is.

 “Has found out thy bed”

“Has found out thy bed”. One more William Blake add an allusion in his poem. In this poem “Has
found out thy bed” has meaning, the girl can not hold anymore, her lechery, her sexuality lust has been
burnt herself because the seduction from a man. “thy bed” explains the situation happened in bed, they
make love.
 Allusion

“Of crimson joy”

William Blake once more add allusion language, “crimson joy” is a sin
which give her a pleasure and, crimson joy also has meaning if a virgin girl
make love for the first time, there is blood shed in the chase lost her virginity.
 Imagery

 “In the howling strom”

“In the howling strom” gives us image that feel was very crowded, frightening
turmoil and passion that can destruct something. In this poem “howling
strom” has a meaning because the seduction, the feel is rages come and down
destruct her believe in God she can not hold any longer, she fall in her sin,
sex.
 Conclusion
 From “The Sick Rose” we can know that William Blake is a religious man
and has strong faith. He wants to tell us, how easy we can fall in sin mainly
in obsession of sex. By using figurative languages like symbol, allusion, and
imagery that we have analyzed, William Blake is genius and very smart in
use the words. His purpose use figurative languages in “The Sick Rose” are
the beauty of his poem and to says about sex in gently way. As we know that
poem itself is not something that can be translated as same as the original but
after already read and read again with full of love we can get the real
meaning and the idea of “The Sick Rose” that William Blake deliver to the
reader.
Thank You