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.
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.
February 9, 2007 at 4:42 am |
What is a sick rose? could it be something beautiful that is ill?
http://www.verdispoetry.com
February 25, 2008 at 8:40 pm |
What did Blake mean by “worm”? Is it an antiquated term for a parasite or bacteria?
April 19, 2008 at 11:27 am |
The rose might b representation of a woman or her ***, and is sick because she is pregnant frm that ‘worm’ who found out her ‘crimson joy, i.e sex. I think it’s based on double meaning.
April 20, 2008 at 9:25 pm |
[...] William Blake – The Sick Rose [...]
August 20, 2008 at 11:42 pm |
“thy bed / of crimson joy” puzzles me. How is the word “bed” functioning here? Is it a synonym for “seat,” “origin,” “bottom,” “location”?
September 27, 2008 at 1:47 pm |
[...] William Blake – The Sick Rose [...]
October 19, 2008 at 4:47 pm |
I think this poem actually represents the loss of innocence that experience causes. The “Rose” could be a woman caught in a sexual situation (Note stanza 2 entirely) and she has fallen ill (her illness may be any sexual side effect: guilt, jealousy, she may have been raped) it’s all about interpretation, and it could therefore mean anything you’d like it to. This is just my idea.
December 3, 2008 at 1:45 am |
I think your on the right track ash.
January 10, 2009 at 1:56 pm |
Is there an element of jealousy here? The worm being the speaker’s rival for a woman’s (the rose) love? Obviously the worm is a phallic reference as well. So perhaps the speaker is talking about a secret betrayal and observing that the new lover is actually her destroyer.
September 8, 2009 at 6:09 pm |
its great
http://fuckpoetry.wordpress.com