Sick Rose by William Blake Research Paper

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The second aspect is that the subtlety of the sickness keeps it under the surface of an apparently healthy whole. The indication appears to be that the casual observer would not detect the illness. However, a person who moves closer to the rose will begin to see the signs of the illness that is in the process of consuming the life of the rose from within.

The words "bed" and "crimson joy" appear to refer to love that has been consummated by sex. This provides further possibilities for interpretation. It could be that the romance of young love was corrupted by sex -- "crimson" could refer to the loss of virginity. From a modern point-of-view, however, the disease could be the deception of one of the partners while the other is faithful. This deception then destroys the relationship from within. This interpretation can be substantiated by the phrase "dark secret love," with the "secret" implying that one of the partners is not being entirely truthful. The rhyme scheme is also significant, being irregular (abcb).

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The irregularity of rhyme scheme is an indication of imperfection, caused by the symbolic worm. In this way, even the form of the poem indicates sickness and imperfection. In addition the tone of the poem substantiates this. There is no indication of sorrow or indeed any particularly strong emotion. The speaker simply makes short, strong statements. This lack of emotion indicates a sense of hopelessness; nothing is to be done about the situation, so there is no point in regret or sorrow.

In conclusion, the poet succeeds beautifully in indicating the extent of the problem. The sickness permeates everything in the poem and in the rose. Not even the structure of the poem is free from the darkness or the storm. The sickness is both subtle and all-pervading. It is not detected easily, but once seen, it becomes clear that it has overtaken the very life of what was once beautiful, as symbolized by the rose......

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