The Sick Rose

A rose is perhaps the most obvious literary symbol of love. Blake, however, has twisted this symbol in beginning the poem with the simple declaration: “O Rose thou art sick.” The rose has been infected in the night by an invisible worm during a “howling storm.” It is an easy mistake, for how is a worm to be visible when most of its time is spent tunneling underground. Moreover, it is in the aftermath of the upheaval and tantrum of a howling storm that worms emerge from their tunnels and are easily detected as worms. The rose’s representation of love is poisoned by the secrecy in which the act of sex must be performed. The secrecy leaves a black mark on the rose, which transforms a once beautiful, natural image of love to a sick, rotting rose. Blake gives the worm malicious intent by writing it “has found out thy bed of crimson joy: and his dark secret love does thy life destroy.” Blake has demonized the worm, for worms also symbolize death and decay in that they take part in feasting on decomposing bodies. Although worms are obvious phallic symbols, I believe Blake’s main intention is to blame society for attaching nonsensical stigma to the act of sex. In poems such as ‘The Blossom’ Blake seems to be an advocate of free love and I think that the sickness in ‘The Sick Rose’ is the insidious secrecy in the worm’s mannerisms. However, the footnote points out that some versions of the poem end with “and her dark secret love does thy life destroy,” which completely changes the meaning of the poem, and in my opinion improves it. If it is her love that destroys life, then she, the rose, is in complete control of her actions and the worm is not a snake or anything harmful, just a little worm. It is society’s fault for tainting the natural act of love and as Blake writes in ‘London’ the rose and the worm are trapped in “mind- forg’d manacles.” If it is his love that destroys life then it is the worm that is taking advantage of an awful cultural stigma with full knowledge that it is the rose who will become sick.