The Sick Rose
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.
Commentary
Martin’s commentary yesterday notwithstanding, short poems do not necessarily have to be either ‘self-contained’ or ‘gemlike’ in order to achieve perfection. Indeed, I find that among my own favourite short poems are several that seem to expand upon reading, that open themselves up to multiple layers of interpretation. This is one of them.
— Thomas
Minstrels Links
There are, of course, plenty of short poems on the Minstrels site, from Pound’s imagist magic to Basho’s haiku. One of my favourites is Peter Porter’s ‘Instant Fish’, another poem that seems to say much more than just what the words imply: poem #64
Talking about Peter Porter and haiku, here’s one that shouldn’t be missed:
William Blake, William
Blake, William Blake, William Blake,
say it and feel new!
– Peter Porter
from ‘Japanese Jokes’, poem #198
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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Martin DeMello · 14 September 2000
Also sprach Hita Adwanikar…
Several :) See [broken link] http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/index_poet.html and search for Parker - three done and a few in the pipeline (I agree - she’s wonderfully refreshing). If there’s any particular favourite you’d like to see, do send it in - we’re always on the lookout for suggestions and guest poems.
Thank you - it’s always nice to be appreciated.
m.
Hita Adwanikar · 14 September 2000
hi,
i am a newcomer to this great site… and i dont know if you have ever had poems by dorothy parker. i like them for thir freshness and jauntiness… things we often miss in our daily toils..
thanks for this great site though, to everyone concerned. hita
Paulreets · 28 May 2001
This poem, to be fully appreciated must be read aloud. Hearing this lovely little poem recited by someone like Richard Burton adds suprising demension and meaning. When you then silently reread it, you will be amazed at its sad, subtle beauty.
Paul (Of “The Sick Rose”)
Bruno Giordani · 18 March 2003
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Tanya Hart · 31 March 2003
Hi minstrels
I am in Hong Kong at the moment, as we are going crazy with the mystery pneumonia virus. Half the people on the streets are wearing surgical masks, anyone who coughs or sneezes is feared (and the high pollution levels mean most people have cold symptoms anyway), schools and universities are closed to students (i’m a teacher so i’m still at work). No one knows really if the virus is spread by water-droplets or through the air (more scary). A whole apartment block has been quarantined, 80 people a day getting infected.
I was thinking of this poem (which has stuck in my head since first year uni, looong ago), because right now, my lungs are a precious vulnerable rose. It really is frighteningly like this poem. Because the virus incubates for several days, we walk around wondering if we have invisibly caught it already and are infecting our friends. We are suspicious of ourselves.
So thank for your site, it was nice to find it so fast. I just typed ‘blake’ and the first line into google, and you came up.
Yours, Tan.
Drew Arent · 1 July 2004
To fully comprehend this poem, it’s important to have an understanding of the collection it comes from: “Songs of Innocence and Experience,” which includes both The Lamb and the Tyger. This is obviously a song of experience–or rather the transition from innocence to experience. There’s much to say about this 8 line poem. There are religious, sexual, moral insinuations. Why is the rose sick? It is far from a physical ailment and more of a moral issue. The speaker, which could be represented by an authoritative figure like Rose’s mother, is informing her that she is “mentally ill” because she expressed her “crimson joy.” Because Rose allowed the “invisible worm” into her bed (as opposed to a legitimate, ‘visible’ worm), her life in the eyes of society will forever be destroyed. Taboos of sex. Taboos of sex. This is what we’re talking about. Blake heightens the mundane and ordinary creatures of life to represent extraordinary, abstract ideas of an evolving culture. So, instantly, we associate the worm with the cause of Rose’s sickness. This is what the speaker implies. However, it was not a forced sexual interaction at all. The worm travels through a hail-storm of societal restrictions and a guilty conscience to find her “bed of crimson joy” that already existed before he got there. And it was joyful. Sensual. Therefore, the Rose’s sexuality is the root of her sickness and not the worm. To lose one’s innocence improperly, according to the institution of religion then and now is shameful. It’s generally harder to sympathize with the rose’s situation of forbidden sexual passion nowadays then it was in 1794 when it was written. However, taboos will exist as long as humanity does and we all can relate to Rose on some “invisible” level (she says as her closet bursts open with skeletons).