The Sick Rose Analysis

This paper will be an analysis of the William Blake poem “The Sick Rose”, and will analyse how the symbolism and imagery presented in the poem contribute to the theme of the poem. The poem follows the story of the rose which is sick as a result of an “invisible worm” (line 2) that has found out its bed and destroys it with a “dark secret love” (line 7). Through the poet’s diction and use of descriptive language, one can suggest that the poem is rather illustrating the story of a human interaction of sorts, instead of just the tale of a garden rose and an ordinary worm. Considering this and the poet’s use of symbols and imagery throughout the poem, one can further suggest that the theme of this poem is the destructive nature or consequence

According to common fiction and folklore, night time is the time when wicked and cruel things or entities are said to come alive or fly. This idea therefore paints the worm in a negative light and re-enforces the idea of it being of an evil, destructive or cruel disposition. Night, in this case, then is not just an indication of the time day, but rather helps one establish an understanding of the secret and even sinister nature of the encounter between the young lady and her pursuer. This is because often, secretive or ominous encounters happen by the cover of night. Also, the fact that the poet says that the worm “flies in the night” make one think of a thief who steals by the cover of night. This then lends itself to theme, in that the pursuer, does supposedly steal the young lady’s virginity, ultimately bringing destruction tot the young lady as he destroys her dignity and

In these lines, we find a paradox in the phrase “dark secret love”. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, love is “affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests”. Based on this definition, one can then see that the idea of dark secret love is a contradictory one. Love is associated with affection, care and benevolence, yet the worm’s, or rather, the pursuer’s love is dark and secretive. Darkness is often associated with death, evil and destruction. Considering the conflicting associations of these two words, one could then suggest that the pursuer’s love is not pure, but rather is an idea of lust-driven love of a sadistic nature. One could even suggest that the pursuer uses this perverse idea of love as an excuse for finding out the young lady’s bed and ultimately destroying her. The pursuer’s “dark secret love” could also be a symbol of the act of love-making, however, just a darker and more perverse form of it. This obviously then suggests that the pursuer, in fact, rapes the young lady. Also, the ‘life’ spoken of in line 8 could be understood literally, as this line could tell of the pursuer leaving the young lady indefinitely scarred, emotionally and mentally, by what he does to her. However, the ‘life’ could also be interpreted as a symbol of the young lady’s virtue and dignity which are linked to her