The Sick Rose Analysis

Songs of Experience1789O 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.

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The rose is a person that had gotting sick in bed while there was a storm and the wind is howling.

| Posted on 2010-02-03 | by a guest

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The speaker informs the rose it is sick.
An"invisible" worm has stolen into it's bed in a "howling storm" under the cover of the night.
the"dark secret love" of rhis worm is destroying the rose's life.
"Rose" symbolizes love and nature.
"worm" symbolizes death,disase.
"Crimson joy" symbolizes shame.
"bed" symbolizes garden/lover's bed

| Posted on 2010-01-25 | by a guest

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I believe the guy at the very top is right but there is also another way that it could be read, the rose could be england and the invisible worm corruption, crimson joy could refer to the sadistic tendencies of the english army aswell as they wore crimson. Blake believed that everyone had the right to do what ever they wanted, he believed that there should be no laws, if you wanted to run arround naked and murder fine, he didnt care and arround the time this poem was writen the english were at the height of there empire, he hated this!! im 13, and all the rest of you are old people!!!!

| Posted on 2010-01-25 | by a guest

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The poem is about a loss of chastity. The rose is sick because the idea was back then you were not pure after losing your virginity. This is about a man and woman having sex- the second stanza implies the blood from a virgin spills on the bed, and how in coming, the virtue is "killed", because the "worm" has destroyed it.

| Posted on 2010-01-23 | by a guest

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I think it is an amazing poem but I don`t have the foggiest idea what is the correct interpretation..go to hell blake

| Posted on 2010-01-18 | by a guest

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If I were a worm and invisible and could fly I would not travel in inclement weather.

| Posted on 2009-12-31 | by a guest

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The 'invisible worm' in a metaphorical sense is referring to the ills of society, this could be a whole host of things from Tyrannical rulers who reign harshly and to their own personnel benefit(It can be interpreted this way if you look at 'London'). The poem could be more based on love and relationships, it would seem that Blake was cynical of love in London at the time as he refers to it as 'dark secret love' suggesting that these 'relationships' are false, men look to affairs and prostitutes to find their sexual pleasures and the diseases that are procurred as a result. In 'London' Blake refers to marraige as a 'marraige hearse' as he saw marraige as the loveless and pointless, people were solely unindependant and relied on the church in their day to day lives, Blake was very anti-religious he converted to Swedenborgism. The 'sick rose' is perhaps Britain metaphorically of course, the rose is a symbol of love and England (rugby team jersey) Blake may have thought the country was being corrupted and ruined.

| Posted on 2009-12-20 | by a guest

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I am Blake's ghost and here is what is what is what...
- The invisible worm alludes to a worm being invisible
which only happens in cartoons.
- A worm flying alludes to technology and tiny jet planes.
- The howling storm is obvious and can only be interpreted as such.
- bed of crimson joy - bed of red satin sheets of course, or maybe they're green...colors are tricky to decipher
- the rest of the poem is insignificant and should be reread until senilty settles in.

| Posted on 2009-11-24 | by a guest

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whatever people!!if you are not interested to the poem ,then why are you reading them..you guys are fools..

| Posted on 2009-11-23 | by a guest

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whatever people!!if you are not interested to the poem ,then why are you reading them..you guys are fools..

| Posted on 2009-11-23 | by a guest

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Perhaps:
The invisible worm is religion
The rose is truth - the bed of crimson joy is Jesus
Religion and it's dark secret love - How skillfully it plays the strings of human nature, all the while destroying truth and using good to suit it's own end - the end of everything - it's dark secret love

| Posted on 2009-11-23 | by a guest

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I believe that the rose represents Britain and the ways in which the country is corrupt. It is very common for Blake to question society and the 'dark secret love' is referring to prostitutes. thank you very much

| Posted on 2009-11-18 | by a guest

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THE MESSAGE "Posted on 2008-06-30 | by a guest" is favored.

| Posted on 2009-11-17 | by a guest

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funny poem huh!! i think it's a very babyish and meaningless poem cause i don't understand no literature at all.

| Posted on 2009-11-15 | by a guest

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this poem can be explained as that blake personifies the rose as children who are innocent, and the worm is an evil creature that signifies death and is enjoying to destroy the life of the rose, as mentioned (crimson joy)i.e,red signifies danger, and can be said as ''dangerous joy''.i am just a 12 year old child who has given a great explanation.look at you old people!

| Posted on 2009-11-14 | by a guest

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You guys are nuts!
it clearly states that a flower (rose) is being corrupted.
Here is the poem translated into it's true meaning:
THE UNHEALTHY FLOWER
o flower, you are dying!
the undetectable parasite
That is part bat
in the yelling hurricane
has discovered your sleeping place
of deep-red happiness
and the parasites unknown African passion
your living self eliminates
so, it clearly states that the parasite was extremely perverted, and liked playing bongo drums.
DUH!!! you guys are crazy. I'm related to him. (not directly though)

| Posted on 2009-11-10 | by a guest

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The "rose" is a beautiful maiden who has recently lost her virginity (hence "crimson" joy). The "sick"ness which she suffers from is nothing more than "morning sickness", the usual side-effect of pregnancy. The "invisible worm" is the sperm-like homunculus that was then imagined to swim out of the man's testes into the woman's womb in the heat of sexual intercourse ("howling storm").
We know that it was a clandestine relationship ("dark secret love") and that she therefore stands little hope of marrying her lover. And giving birth or even losing virginity out of wedlock would at that time inevitably destroy her prospects in life.
It's a beautiful poem, one of my favorites. I have read it to all my children in turn. They normally interpret it literally, as some kind of viral blight of roses whose spores are carried on the wind at night. It's a sad poem, no matter how it is interpreted, but electrifying in its intensity.

| Posted on 2009-11-04 | by a guest

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No, im pretty sure the rose is a representation of love and an actual rose at the same time. The rose is sick, so it shows that the love is tainted and they cannot see it because the cause is the "invisible worm". The bed can represent both the flowerbed of the rose, and the bed of the narrators lover. The invisible worm is a representation of rotting/decaying, so in return the sickness is rotting the rose, and the love they share. he “crimson joy” of the rose connotes both sexual pleasure and shame, thus joining the two concepts in a way that Blake thought was perverted and unhealthy- the rose's happy attitude towards life is in return tainted by the presence of shame and secrecy that our society reflects towards love.

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest

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i thnk in ths poem poet is discribing te beauty of world.n he is telling us that uman is distroying his world by his own hand!!!e is sprding dirt...poluion etc n by ts or hs beatifulk world which is ful of trees...etc...they r cuting n finishing the beauty of the world.n one day ths beauy wil b finishd by human

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest

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i thnk in ths poem poet is discribing te beauty of world.n he is telling us that uman is distroying his world by his own hand!!!e is sprding dirt...poluion etc n by ts or hs beatifulk world which is ful of trees...etc...they r cuting n finishing the beauty of the world.n one day ths beauy wil b finishd by human

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest

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i think the sick rose is a girl who has got a illness and has got it from a dirty man who likes to give it rough

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest

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This poem is about a man wanting Sex from a diseased woman

| Posted on 2009-11-03 | by a guest

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When the poem starts “O Rose, thou art sick!” the author is telling the woman that she has an illness. Then Blake talks about her lover, by saying that he is an “invisible worm” he is calling him a parasite, which infects people. Thus he is saying that her lover had an illness which he infected her with and by saying that he “flies in the night” it probably referring to his infidelities. Then we come to the union of this woman and her lover. The author talks about the pain the woman feels when her lover takes her virginity by referring her pain to the “howling storm”, on the other hand he talks about the pleasure that her lover gets from taking her virginity by saying that “Has found out thy bed, Of crimson joy”. But then he tells her the result of this union caused her to get the disease from her lover, because of “his dark secret love” or his infidelities. But as a result the author tells us that she dies by saying that “Does thy life destroy”, that her lover was the cause of her death.

| Posted on 2009-10-27 | by a guest

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The poem is most deffinatly about a woman, but it is about a woman who has had a miscarriage. That is the illness. Sound far-fetched? That's whay I thought until I studied it in my Readings in Poetry class in college. Most people don't know Blake was an artist as well as a poet. He illustrated most of his poems. Type in this poem in Google images and the picture will come up. Look at it very carefully. You will see the vines and flowers twisted in the shapes of doubled-over women. The invisible 'worm' is the undeveloped child. The 'howling storm' is the woman suffering from miscarriage pains. The 'crimson joy' is the blood. The 'he' mentioned is the father of the child, most likely a married man, who never wanted a 'bastard child.' Finally, the end implies that not only has the child died, but the woman has as well.

| Posted on 2009-10-02 | by a guest

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It is quite amazing how many different theories can come from so few lines of poetry. I am currently studying this in an A level class and we interpreted the poem to be about a woman who's life is being destroyed by a form of illness. Our guess at this illness was syphilis as it was very common in the era in which the poem was written and doomed many. We understood the sick rose to be an innocent woman suffering from an illness passed on by somebody else. We thought through that to and decided it was a lover/husband who had sex with a prostitute (also very common) and gave the disease to an innocent love. We also looked at the worm as a phallic symbol. The howling storm represents the effects of the disease and the secon stanza looks on how the disease has invaded and corrupted the "bed of crimson joy." We understand that the bed would have been a place for joy (in a sexual manner) before the onset of the disease. This is one of the many interpretations of this poem.
Sozz92 - A Level Student

| Posted on 2009-09-30 | by a guest

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I THINK THE POEM IS ABOUT HOW ONE LOVES CHICKEN TIKKA

| Posted on 2009-09-28 | by a guest

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In William Blake’s poem, “The Sick Rose,” the narrator describes the devastating effects of addiction and obsession.
The diction of the poem’s first line, “O rose, thou art sick!” indicates that the speaker is alerting the rose of her “illness.” Had it been a casual observation, that the rose was under the weather the use of an “imperative” or exclamation point would have been unnecessary. The term “rose” as used by Blake in this context is a metaphor for a young, pure, innocent woman. The innocent rose, is unaware of the dangers that the worm, her addiction, poses to her life. The image of an invisible worm flying in the night connotes a secret and dangerous behavior which is polluting and destroying her. The insidious worm, whether it be an older married man, alcohol or heroin, manifests itself in the night while the world sleeps. Once the worm enters the young woman’s bedroom, after flying through the “howling storm,” she succumbs to its dark secret appeal. The phrase “has found thy bed, creates the impression that the temptation has infiltrated her secure sanctuary, her “bed.” The fact that it has entered her bedroom at night is support for the proposition that she is at her most vulnerable and powerless to protect herself from the dangers that the dark stranger poses to her health, virtue and sanity. The concluding phrase “Does thy life destroy” reinforces the narrator’s conviction that the addiction or corrupting influence is literally killing her despite the fact that the evil worm secretly loves her and she him. It is quite simply a tale of destructive forces drawn together by madness, addiction or fate.
Posted by a Ninth Grader- Good Luck to All! (9/10/2009

| Posted on 2009-09-08 | by a guest

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Taylor Viggiano, 9B
Literature – Mr. Calhoun
August 17, 2009
“Sick Rose” By William Blake
In William Blake’s poem, “The Sick Rose,” the narrator describes the devastating effects of addiction and obsession.
The diction of the poem’s first line, “O rose, thou art sick!” indicates that the speaker is alerting the rose of her “illness.” Had it been a casual observation, that the rose was under the weather the use of an “imperative” or exclamation point would have been unnecessary. The term “rose” as used by Blake in this context is a metaphor for a young, pure, innocent woman. The innocent rose, is unaware of the dangers that the worm, her addiction, poses to her life. The image of an invisible worm flying in the night connotes a secret and dangerous behavior which is polluting and destroying her. The insidious worm, whether it be an older married man, alcohol or heroin, manifests itself in the night while the world sleeps. Once the worm enters the young woman’s bedroom, after flying through the “howling storm,” she succumbs to its dark secret appeal. The phrase “has found thy bed, creates the impression that the temptation has infiltrated her secure sanctuary, her “bed.” The fact that it has entered her bedroom at night is support for the proposition that she is at her most vulnerable and powerless to protect herself from the dangers that the dark stranger poses to her health, virtue and sanity. The concluding phrase “Does thy life destroy” reinforces the narrator’s conviction that the addiction or corrupting influence is literally killing her despite the fact that the evil worm secretly loves her and she him. It is quite simply a tale of destructive forces drawn together by madness, addiction or fate.
Posted by a Ninth Grader- Good Luck to All! (9/10/2009

| Posted on 2009-09-08 | by a guest

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This poem was written by blake as part of his depressed reflections on the Industrial Revolution, therfore. the rose represents humanity and nature as an entity of free willed happiness.
The worm, represents both industrialism, and anything polluting of nature, it seeks out beauty and corrupts it.
This clearly expresses the romantic ideals and tenets that co-inside with Blake's writing, as not only does he place high value on the human spirit, but also on the beauty of nature and disgust at industrialism

| Posted on 2009-08-25 | by a guest

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the sick rose represents the woman who wrongly inloved to the married man,the worm which represents to be invisible because that man is hiding to his wife.On that flies at night this represents that they see the woman in the dark side which nobody can recognized them.in the howling storm which means they are caught by the legal wife in bed. which is a big no, no, no, of crimson joy which means of sexual pleasure and shame....and his dark secret love it is the extra marital relationship which is bad. Does the life destroy thy life means, this means that incase the legal wife will file a case againts to his husband and to her.this will destroy her life
BY: MLGONOS

| Posted on 2009-06-24 | by a guest

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the sick rose represents the woman who wrongly inloved to the married man,the worm which represents to be invisible because that man is hiding to his wife.On that flies at night this represents that they see the woman in the dark side which nobody can recognized them.in the howling storm which means they are caught by the legal wife in bed. which is a big no, no, no, of crimson joy which means of sexual pleasure and shame....and his dark secret love it is the extra marital relationship which is bad. Does the life destroy thy life means, this means that incase the legal wife will file a case againts to his husband and to her.this will destroy her life

| Posted on 2009-06-24 | by a guest

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guys wot imaged did blake use to illustarte the sick rose? thnx

| Posted on 2009-05-10 | by a guest

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My analisis is: this poem talks about dark, secret, passionate, sex : wonderful sex !!!! only that the woman the rose is abused by the invisible worm a man.

| Posted on 2009-05-08 | by a guest

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guys i bet u the guy just like made up a song and we extracted all this from it! lol XD

| Posted on 2009-03-16 | by a guest

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i have no idea what does it mean in relation to secret life of bees

| Posted on 2009-02-10 | by a guest

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i have no idea what does it mean in relation to secret life of bees

| Posted on 2009-02-10 | by a guest

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First of all, i think that everyone's opinion is true in their own way.
But if you look at the history of William Blake himself, his last poems were based upon his "visions" which were of the after life, angels and heaven.
The rose represents the earth: the population.
It's sick because it's the end of the world as we know it.
the invisible worm who flies in the night is death.
he flies in a howling storm because death strikes thousands of people. it's a disaster.
death finds the people at night when everyone is happy.(crimson joy).
And "his" represents "god's" dark love for all of us
and the last line, is saying because of His love, everyone's life ends (destroy).
which would be good because everyone would be released to heaven.
**this could apply to the atheists.

| Posted on 2009-02-02 | by a guest

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This poem was used in a prose called 'Educating Rita'. I think that many of the analysis comments present here ar quite remarkable, however I would like to comment on how the poem helped to shape the play. 'Rita' is a 26 year old, working-class Liverpudlian who on a journey to become 'educated' (thus the title of the play)and attends an Open University course where she is turored by a university literature lecturer named Dr Frank Bryce. The poem is used interesingly in the context of the play as Frank does not want to change Rita as he thinks that her uniquness is very special and he does not want her to lose that. Despite this, Rita does want to change evry much and this poem talks about how she has distorted herself and has become just another literate in a mass of literates. The most interesting part is the very opening line of the poem 'O Rose, thou art sick!' This represets that Rita is not well, she's not herself anymore, she's losing her former personality and style. The rest of the play may represent education itself, the term 'education' covered by the word 'love', and the fact that it can make or break you - 'Does thy life destroy'. You should read the play if you can, it's great and speaks a lot about the social order of the 1970s and 1980s.

| Posted on 2009-01-05 | by a guest

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This is an amazing poem, it represents so much! All of your explanations are correct, even if Blake himself did not intend his poem to cover so many areas. It is what the reader gets out of it that matters, what the writer meant it to mean is not AS important.

| Posted on 2008-11-26 | by a guest

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All of you don't know his code of thinking,why lose the time.This is fantasy colored just of him,and we have a million options.Which is true?.Bestari59.

| Posted on 2008-10-26 | by a guest