lyric · 1794

The Sick Rose

by William Blake

1 min read8 line notes

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.

Line notes

Select an underlined line to understand it. Start with the plain meaning, then look closer.

Line 1

A direct diagnosis

The speaker addresses the rose and immediately declares that something is wrong.

Look closer

The capitalised Rose can be read as more than a flower: a person, love itself, beauty or innocence.

Line 2

An unseen threat

A worm is harming the rose, but it cannot be seen.

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‘Invisible’ makes the danger difficult to resist and encourages symbolic readings such as disease, jealousy or shame.

Line 3

Cover of darkness

The worm travels at night.

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Night creates secrecy. The phrase begins a movement away from the bright associations of the rose.

Line 4

Violence in nature

A loud storm surrounds the worm’s flight.

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The ‘howling’ sound makes the setting feel animal and threatening; the colon carries us into the consequence.

Line 5

Intimacy invaded

The worm reaches the rose’s resting place.

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‘Bed’ is both the flowerbed and a human bed, bringing sexuality and intimate betrayal into the poem.

Line 6

Pleasure and danger

The rose’s red bed is a place of pleasure.

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‘Crimson’ suggests petals, passion and blood. Joy is made visually inseparable from danger.

Line 7

Love kept hidden

The worm’s love is secret and destructive.

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The oxymoronic idea of ‘dark…love’ blurs affection, possession and harm.

Line 8

The final consequence

This hidden love kills the rose.

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The plain monosyllables make the ending feel inevitable. Blake gives no cure, confession or escape.

The poem in plain English

What is happening?

A rose is destroyed by an invisible worm. Blake leaves the image open: it may suggest secret desire, jealousy, disease or any hidden force that corrupts love.

Context

Published in Songs of Experience, the poem pairs nursery-song directness with an adult world of secrecy and damage.

Ideas to follow

Form

lyric · two quatrains. Reading level: Accessible.