The Sick Rose

1 Pages 256 Words

“The Sick Rose” by: William Blake (page 180)

The question for this journal asks you to choose a poem thus far that is completely determined by one single word. William Blake’s “The Sick Rose” is a prime example of how this works. If the word “sick” never appeared in the title, then it would just be called, “The Rose.” A poem that was written about an ordinary rose would seem very redundant and maybe even boring. There is only so many times that one can say how beautiful a rose is and how it is the symbol for love.
Once you add the word, “sick” to the title, you have a whole other ball game. The entire tone and direction of the poem changes when you are talking about a rose that is sick. The very first line of the poem sets the tone for what is to follow, “O rose, thou art sick,” (page 180, line 1). You now know that the poem is going to have a slow, dismal tone that will eventually end with the death of the sick rose.
In the lines following the first, the speaker talks about what caused the rose to become sick. I really enjoyed how he described what was going on. I could actually picture the rose being “attacked” by a tiny worm that was in love with everything that the rose has to offer. In the end, the worm’s love becomes the rose’s demise....