The Sick Rose

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sick Rose is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Experience in 1794.

[edit] Text of the poem

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.

[edit] Themes

The poem shares the common theme of death and destruction in the collection, telling of a rose that has reached the end of its lifespan in the advent of the creeping winter.

The worm could be seen as the masculine side of a relationship and the Rose the feminine side of a relationship.

There are many references to the darker side of human nature in this poem, and the death resulting from it. The rose is slowly dismantled by a number of factors— the "invisible worm" and the "howling storm" in which the rose doesn't stand a chance. The "crimson joy" is perhaps the strongest link to human death, referring to a lust for blood. There may also be sexual connotations in the poem, referring to the loss of virginity, "crimson joy" may also suggest an affair, shown by the word joy. The poem is often cited as one of quintessential examples of comparing a vagina to a flower. The last line may refer to the chance of contracting an STD, there is also the possibility of it being a rape by the violent nature of several lines. The poem may also be referring to the state of England during the Industrial Revolution; it is being destroyed by the Revolution growing upon its shores.