August 22, 2021

From Gerald R. Lucas
Revision as of 08:35, 2 September 2021 by Grlucas (talk | contribs) (Created entry.)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Songs of innocence and of experience, page 39, The Sick Rose (Fitzwilliam copy).png
The Sick Rose[1]
By: William Blake (1794)

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm
That flies in the night
In the howling storm

Has found out thy bed 5
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

Notes & Commentary

  1. From the Songs of Experience, 1794.
         Compare this poem to its contrary, the “The Blossom” from Songs of Innocence. See also the introductory note on “The Lamb” for more background into Blake’s poetic composition and philosophy.

Works Cited

  • Battenhouse, Henry M. (1958). English Romantic Writers. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
  • Gardner, Stanley (1969). Blake. Literary Critiques. New York: Arco.
  • Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. (2018). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. The Major Authors. 2 (Tenth ed.). New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 9780393603095.
  • Tomlinson, Alan (1987). Song of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake. MacMillan Master Guides. London: MacMillan Education.

Links