The Sick Rose
BY WILLIAM BLAKE
O 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.
The poem is composed only of two stanzas with four lines in every stanza. The said poem follows the rhyme scheme A-B, C-B, D-E, F-E. We can say that the poem is not a total free verse because as you can see there is a rhyme scheme and a measure being followed. Try to notice that each of the four lines in every stanza has the measure of 5 except for the second lines which are any number other than five. Isn't it amazing? The poem obviously uses symbolism. An imagery can be attained from the lines of the first stanza.
Connotation wise, the poems simply talks about a rose, a plant that is being attacked by a worm, a tiny worm to be specific, almost impossible for the naked eyes to see that is why it is described in the poem to be invisible.The worm landed or has found out the bed of crimson joy which may refer to the the flower of the rose. I this case, it is a red rose because of the word crimson that can be found in the poem. The worm;s darkest love simply means the desire of the worm to eat the rose or it's attraction toward the plant.
Denotation wise, the poem may mean a lot or has a lot of meanings depending on the person reading it and depending on how the reader will interpret and understand the poem. The rose is a metaphor of life and the invisible worm(s) is(are) its hazard(s). The poem symbolizes that the person living the life referred to in the poem was defeated by life's trials and hardships which is being shown by the dying rose because of the attack of the invisible worm. The word "invisible" is used to describe the worm for it is true that hardships and trials cannot be sen by the naked eyes.It can only be felt and experienced but can never be touched.
REFERENCES:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172938
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