The Sick Rose

• Theme of death, destruction and innocence

  • Rose as a symbol of natural beauty, and the poem becomes an allegory for such beauty's inevitable destruction and that death and decay come for all living things.
  • Rose's fate may symbolise the corruption of innocence.
  • Worm represents destruction, a creature of dirt and burrowing. Also the way that earthly society inevitably corrupts even the purest of beings.
• Theme of sex and desire

  • Poem interpreted as an allegory for the corrupting influence of sexual desire, as well as the damage caused by the suppression of that desrie.
  • William Blake advocated for sexual liberation, and this poem critiques the way sexual unions are shrouded in secrecy and shame.
  • Rose symbolises femininity and female genitalia, with the worm a phallic representation of male sexuality.
  • Union between the rose and worm isn't joyful, love here is presented as a deathly force.
• Symbol of the Rose

  • Symbolic for romance, femininity, and in particular the female genitalia, relating to sexuality.
  • Representation of innocence which becomes corrupted in the real world. This also represents unspoiled beauty and loveliness.
  • The "crimson joy" provided by the rose connotes sexual satisfaction while the "bed" plays on the twin definition of a literal bed, suggesting sexual activity, and a flowerbed.
• Symbol of the Worm

  • Usually linked with death and decay, symbolising dark and destructive forces possibly relating to dishonest members of society.
  • May be a symbol of repressed sexuality, further symbolising the consequences of unhealthy societal attitudes towards sex, particularly the shame and secrecy placed upon sexual relations by the Christian religion.
  • Symbolic of the male sexual organ and phallic imagery, seeking to penetrate the rose. Its desire is presented as grotesque and unnatural.
  • Biblical image of the serpent in the book of Genesis.
• Blake's view on love and relationships

  • Believer in free love.
  • Critical of constraints of conventional marriage based on financial convenience.
  • Lots of poverty and prostitution in London so female sexuality was demonised.
• Form

  • Small, compact poem. The simple form makes the poem feel like an allegory, a short tale with a hidden message.
  • The stanza break creates a lasting tension and the final release mirrors the worm's quest to satisfy his "dark secret love."
• Meter

  • Loose meter also known as anapestic dimeter, meaning that there are two anapests.
  • The meter is very rough as there is often a combination of anapest and iambs.
  • The poem clusters stresses together in "his dark secret love" to suggest the violence of the worm's desires, as he forces his way into the rose's bed and his presence becomes harder to escape.
• Rhyme scheme

  • Regular rhyme scheme, following a pattern of ABCB DEFE.
  • This pattern is the rhyme scheme of a ballad stanza.
  • Steadiness of the rhyme scheme combined with the poem's short lines and highly symbolic imagery, making the poem feel like an allegory.
• Speaker

  • The speaker never refers to themselves directly, keeping the poem as an allegory, less about any specific perspective and more about the message at hand.
  • Addresses the rose through apostrophe, the rose is personified but doesn't answer the speaker.
  • The speaker warns the rose of its fate, but nothing can be done about it.
• "O Rose thou art sick."

  • Apostrophe, the speaker personifies and addresses the rose.
  • "sick" perhaps referring to the wide spread of STDs due to men having sex with prostitutes and carrying diseases back to their wives. Sense of decay and corruption.
  • "Rose" in medieval literature linked to virginity and chastity.
• "The invisible worm, // That flies in the night // In the howling storm."

  • "invisible" reflects Christian teachings that the devil is a master of disguise, metaphorical for a silent act of destruction. Links to shame and secrecy regarding sexual relations.
  • "worm" biblical imagery of the serpent as the 'seducer' of Eve, linking sexuality with shame due to the forbidden fruit.
  • "night" reflects corruption in unseen society.
  • Pathetic fallacy of "howling storm" creates an ominous and sinister tone.
  • Animalistic imagery of wolves, shows strength, and "howling" suggests pleasure from sex.
• "Has found out thy bed // Of crimson joy."

  • Twin meaning of "bed" connoting sexual activity on a bed, or a flowerbed.
  • "crimson" colour imagery suggesting an image of blood from the loss of virginity, danger, fertility, and a sense of something forbidden.
  • This forbidden "joy" may link to restrictions placed on sexuality.
  • "found out" suggests exposing of sins.
• "And his dark secret love // Does thy life destroy."

  • Sense of irony as a worm, an inhuman being, cannot posses the human emotion of "love."
  • "dark secret love" may be a possible euphemism of rape, as it "destroys life." Life being destroyed also links to the spread of STDs due to prostitution. Ultimately society makes love dangerous due to its view of premarital sex as shameful and corrupting.
  • Sex = death, the demonization of female sexuality.
  • Suggests power of nature, perhaps the rose's thorns are powerful.