Analysis of The Sick Rose Written by William Blake Essay

Analysis of The Sick Rose Written 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. In this essay, I chose to write a bout â€Å"The Sick Rose†, which is a short poem written by William Blake, focusing on the metaphorical language and the symbolism used in it. Though this poem is difficult, I like its deeper meaning and the symbolism. I think that Blake succeeds in giving us a very brilliant work in a few lines. This short poem is a narrative poem made up of two stanzas; each stanza has four lines, rhyming a b c b. The language of it is pretty easy though it is written in 18th†¦show more content†¦In the first line, the poet addresses the rose; I think that he anthropomorphizes the rose as a beautiful girl by doing this. This rose is already in a state of decay and the sickness of the rose, which is a feature of human beings, symbolizes its death. A rose, in most cultures including my own, regularly represents love, loyalty and beauty, and is usually a woman. This rose has been destroyed by an â€Å"invisible worm† which is addressed as masculine by using the pronoun ‘his’ in the seventh line instead of ‘its’. The poet portrays the worm negatively. The worm represents the rapist who has destroyed the rose. A worm is a symbol of the male sexual organ. It is also a symbol of something destructive. The word â€Å"invisible† may indicate that nobody can find out his crime. Also, the word â€Å"night† in the third line supports this idea; night is a symbol of things secret and hidden. The poet wants to say that everything is done in darkness. The â€Å"night† provides the criminal with silence and invisibility. The â€Å"howling storm† in the forth line portrays the violence of the crime. It makes an evil and frightening sound. Words such as bed ’, ‘crimson joy and ‘dark secret love’ have a sexual meaning. In the fifth line, â€Å"Bed† represents the sexual act in bed; the rapist fulfils his desires in the bed of the victim. The word ‘crimson’ means dark red. It has been seen as a symbol for passion, violence, and anger. It is also a symbol of blood, or the remains ofShow MoreRelatedThe Sick Rose vs. London: a Poetic Comparison1225 Words   |  5 PagesThe Sick Rose vs. London: A poetic Comparison William Blake was a renowned poet whose works continue to be recognized long after his death. Blake was more than a poet he was also a painter and printmaker. Often his engraving art would act as the accompanying image to his poetry. Throughout his lifetime the British poet wrote several poems. The vastRead MorePoetry Analysis Between Taylor Swift and William Blake976 Words   |  4 Pagesof love or relationships is a theme explored in many poems. 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