THE SICK ROSE William Blake Structure and Language

THE SICK ROSE William Blake

Structure and Language – comment on the effect of the following: Although it has the simplicity of a nursery rhyme (a simple lyrical poem), the poem has enormous political sophistication. Here we have an example of meaning subverting form, the poem has the simple form of a nursery rhyme but the content is sinister and disturbing. In what way might the poem be interpreted as a work of political protest? ◦ Two stanzas of one single sentence ◦ abcb rhyme scheme ◦ Whose viewpoint is presented? ◦ What tone is being used? Despair? Resignation? Triumph? Sadness? ◦ Focus on the adjectives: “sick”, “invisible” and “howling” (stanza 1) “crimson” and “dark secret” (stanza 2)

Interpretations Imagery - The caterpillar and the worm are symbols of destruction in the Bible The rose is a traditional symbol of love and female beauty – therefore the worm could be a symbol of male sexuality. ◦ As the love is “invisible” i. e. secret, the worm becomes a destructive force which kills the rose. ◦ In contrast with The Blossom in Innocence, this poem explores what happens when a lack of openness leads to a loss of shared, natural and innocent emotions. ◦ The world of experience promotes secrecy, jealousy and selfish possession - Blake regarded ‘free’ love (love existing without these restrictions) as the greatest of all human gifts. ◦ Blake also believed we must look beyond outer appearances at the inner life of things to discover the truth and the capabilities of our imagination.

Further interpretation ◦ The "bed of crimson joy" could also stand for Blake's ideal of happiness, an England before the monarchies and the deeply conservative reactionary government of the time imposed order and repression. ◦ The "invisible worm" has links with Satan and is a symbol of male sexuality. ◦ For Blake, the "howling storm" may also be the storm of existence - Blake's experience in the turmoil in England, the struggle for freedom, and the reaction against the revolutionary wars in America. ◦ Look at the phrase "dark secret love" - where I think Blake is referring to powerful, sexual love. He puts an extra beat into the line there, an extra syllable, giving a strong and deliberate emphasis to the word "dark". ◦ The worm brings with it a hidden threat or danger; an image that is particularly disturbing and the powerlessness of the rose adds to this effect. How can we fight something we cannot see, something ‘invisible’ that ‘flies in the night’? This ‘love’ is jealous and possessive and brings with it death and decay and nothing can be done. The sense of despair resonates with Blake’s sense of personal despair felt at the prospect of monarchy triumphing over republicanism. ◦ The poem was set to music by Benjamin Britten in the early years of the second world war where, symbolically, "the invisible worm" pointed to the Nazi threat and the "bed of crimson joy" was England.