My Interpretation of the Poem
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 sick rose is a very ambiguous poem, open to
several interpretations as the images and objects in the poem can have various meanings. I am going to analyse different sections of the poem to then be able to give my overall reading of Blake's poem.
A rose, can connote beauty, it can be a symbol love, represent loyalty and passion. Yet rose's have thorns which draw blood, so in that respect the rose could suggest dubiousness, pain and even death. I interweaved these ideas and imagined the rose as a beautiful woman, who is seriously ill or dying. I came to this conclusion as rose is juxtaposed with the word 'sick' which emphasizes the illness and the tragedy of it all, as one so pure is being blackened. I interpreted the word 'sick' literally and thought the speaker is saddened that his beautiful rose has fallen ill.
Next I looked at 'the invisible worm' and this image conjured up many ideas; perhaps the most obvious being an STI, presumably common in Blake's time. I also perceive the phallic suggestion with the image of the worm and also the Biblical serpent. This could suggest the temptation the worm has over the beautiful rose and like the Biblical story, as a reader we infer like Adam and Eve, the rose will give in and deal with the consequences. A worm is a destructive symbol, something that devours and eats other things, so unsurprisingly I thought of something ...
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Next I looked at 'the invisible worm' and this image conjured up many ideas; perhaps the most obvious being an STI, presumably common in Blake's time. I also perceive the phallic suggestion with the image of the worm and also the Biblical serpent. This could suggest the temptation the worm has over the beautiful rose and like the Biblical story, as a reader we infer like Adam and Eve, the rose will give in and deal with the consequences. A worm is a destructive symbol, something that devours and eats other things, so unsurprisingly I thought of something pessimistic and negative. As I interpreted the rose as a beautiful woman who has fallen ill, I said the worm was an illness, almost worming itself into her once chaste body. As the worm is 'invisible' this supports my reading as a disease is invisible and 'invisible worm' I interpreted as cancer, slowly dismantling the rose. Invisible, I feel also gives a darker side to the poem, it is as if the worm is secretly, slyly contaminating the rose. Invisible thoughts also sprung to mind; perhaps a worm was corrupting a once pure, virginal mind. Blake has deliberately used the 'worm' as worms eat plants so there is immediately a link and a rose being eaten from the inside would still look beautiful which also re-enforces my idea of the disease eating away at someone's insides. 'Has found out thy bed' also links in with this, as it is a confirmation that the cancer has settled inside the woman's body. It has a sinister feel to it, and implies the worm was invading the rose's privacy, as a bed is very personal.
Personally I thought that the 'night' symbolized being unprepared. There is certain secrecy and disguise about the night and the darkness that give eeriness to the poem. The reiterates the idea of silence and invisibility; as if the beautiful rose, unprepared and unaware, has been struck by the clandestine worn, about to infest her once clean body. The 'invisible worm' in the 'night' also suggests the rose is helpless, and does not stand a chance.
The 'storm' for me marks a deteriorating moment. It suggests turmoil, and fright, the rose fearing for her life. I think the 'storm' also contributes to the lack of pattern in the poem as it suggests mayhem and turbulence and an inevitability that the rose's course will not run smoothly.
'The bed of crimson joy' invokes numerous images. There were connotations to blood, tainted love, and of course there were sexual innuendos suggested. I also thought of rape, as if the phallic image had found the beautiful rose's bed of crimson joy. This interpretation would make sense as the rose could represent innocence, however this innocence is sick or to be stolen by the invisible worm. Stolen by obliterating the woman from the inside, - analogous to the brutal act of rape. Also alike many of Blake's poems in 'Songs of Innocence' the general theme is exploitation of the innocent. Yet, as I had interpreted the worm as a disease infecting the woman, I thought of what 'the bed of crimson joy' could symbolize in that situation. Then I though it could be a metaphor for inside the woman's body, and the disease has 'found its bed' there. 'Bed' suggests comfort and is personal, evoking the disease has invaded the woman's privacy and has settled inside her, so therefore it is foreseeable that the disease, or as I interpreted cancer, is there to stay and it can not be removed.
In conclusion, I believe Blake's poem is about a woman who has been stuck a cancerous disease, 'the invisible worm' and fallen sick, 'thou art sick'. I interpreted the rose as a woman as a result of its feminine and beauty connotations and also for the simply reason that Rose is also a very widespread name for a woman. I believe 'the howling storm' is a deteriorating moment in the poem where the woman perhaps takes a turn for the worse and 'bed of crimson joy' re-enforces this suggesting the cancer is firmly settled inside her and there is no way she can escape.