Explication
A Sick Rose
William Blake
A 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.
O Rose, thou art sick,
Woman’s
Name
Break the poem
down
Choose the most
important words
Brainstorm: do not
second guess
yourself at this
point
Use a diagram or
free-write
Rose
Beauty
Love/
Romance
Sick: infection,
disease, physical?
mental?
Keep Brainstorming
Remember: don’t edit yourself
There is no such thing as “wrong” at this
point
Highlight, underline, circle, write in the
margins, etc.
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.
Nouns = underlined
Verbs = circled
Modifiers = highlighted
Animal; fear?
Frightening?
Mysterious; dark
Links with “night;”
evil?
Destruction, chaos, link
with “storm?”
Group and Analyze
What words or phrases seem to “go
together”:
Rose and crimson
Night and dark
Destroy, storm, worm, howling
Rose, love, bed, crimson, joy
What do these associations suggest
to you?
Developing Themes
Rose and crimson
Love, passion
Night and dark
Evil, darkness
Destroy, storm, worm, howling
Destruction, death, chaos
Rose, love, bed, crimson, joy
Passion, sex, love
Developing Themes
Choose one or more themes
Destruction/death/illness
Passion/love
Write about how the themes are linked
What do the themes have in common?
How might the themes contrast?
Examples
passion can be both positive and negative, destructive
and creative
Love and passion can lead to both emotional and
physical “illnesses” and “destruction,” i.e. jealousy, death
of the relationship, unwanted pregnancy, STD’s, etc.
Time to Write
Reconstruct the text
Organize thematically or chronologically
Retell “the story of the poem” using your
new-found insights
Write about the implications, the things
the poet didn’t say
Keep in Mind
Explications are reader-response
exercises
Reader response = what the poem means to
you
You do NOT need to “research”
Explication is a skill
It CAN be learned
Anyone can do it
Explications are NOT writing-intensive
exercises
You don’t have to be a “good” essay writer, just
a “good” thinker