William Blake
Learning Intention:
To begin the study and analysis of
Blake’s ‘The Sick Rose’
Brief biography
Poet, painter, printmaker,
visionary
1757-1827
Critics say: "far and away the
greatest artist Britain has ever
produced".
Considered mad by
contemporaries for his
idiosyncratic views, Blake is
held in high regard by later
critics for his expressiveness
and creativity, and for the
philosophical and mystical
undercurrents within his work
His poetry
The Marriage of Heaven and
Hell – explores the relationship
between the two opposites
The Songs of Innocence and
of Experience – two collections
of poetry exploring those who
are yet to be corrupted by
society, and those who have.
Typically, children are the
innocent ones.
Auguries of Innocence –
exploring innocence and how it
can be corrupted (augury
means ‘the practice of…’)
Pictures and poetry
Blake’s poems and images
work together; he seeks to
represent through words and
pictures, the visions of his
imagination.
He was also paid to illustrate
the works of others.
His method of illustrating also
proved a way of allowing artists
to connect with a mass
audience, preceding the rise of
literacy and mass consumption
of printed materials.
Nebuchadnezzar
The Ancient
of Days
Songs of Innocence
Using a language which
even little babies can learn
by heart
Presenting a happy and
innocent world without
evils and sufferings
Everything seems to be in
pious harmony.
However, in “The little
black boy” and “The
chimney sweeper”, we find
racial discrimination and
sufferings of the poor.
a laughing child upon a cloud
Songs of Experience
A much mature work
Show the sufferings of the
miserable
It marks the poet’s progress in his
outlook on life. To him, experience
had brought a fuller sense of the
power of evil, and of the great
misery and pain of the people’s life.
The symbol changes from the lamb
to the tiger.
Songs of experience
The lapsed soul
weeping in the
evening dew
• In 1794 he published a companion to the Songs of
Innocence called the Songs of Experience, which
contains "The Sick Rose."
• The Songs of Experience were never published
without their counterpart, and the entire volume
was called the Songs of Innocence and
Experience: Showing the Two Contrary States of
the Human Soul.
• The title couldn't be more descriptive. In general,
the Songs of Innocence tend to be, more innocent,
benign, and childish, whereas the Songs of
Experience explore darker, more sinister themes
associated with the Industrial Revolution, religion,
and education.
The Sick Rose
Put the lines in the correct order.
8 lines.
2 stanzas
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.
Let’s compare…
A Red, Red Rose – Robert Burns
O my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my Luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.
The Sick Rose
Sick
Rose
O Rose, thou art sick,
Woman’s
Name
Break the title
down.
Think of the
connotations of the
words.
What about the
juxtaposition of the
words?
Rose
Beauty
Love/
Romance
Sick: infection,
disease, physical?
mental?
The Sick Rose
Juxtaposition – placing next to / side by side
Themeaning of a word changes dramatically when
it is placed next to (juxtaposed) another word.
Rose  Sick Rose 
Contrast – creates an image “rose” then
juxtaposes the word “sick” to create a contrast and
reveal the horror the poet feels at the corruption of
something that we expect to be beautiful.
The poem isn't just about a sick rose and a flying worm, it's
also about violence and sex, issues that we routinely
encounter in movies, television shows, and video games.
It is interested in the darker side of human nature, society,
and culture, despite the fact that it is literally about a rose
and a worm.
Annotate
Highlight key words
Rose
Sick
Invisible
Worm
Night
Howling
Storm
found out
bed
crimson
joy
dark
secret
love
life
destroy
Positive
Negative
Connotations
Rose -flower, England, love. Labour
party, passion
Sick -disease, corruption
Invisible -can’t be seen, hidden,
insidious
Worm- phallic symbol, disease snake
Night - dark alone ghosts scary
malevolent – negative adultery
Night positive – sleep, sex, physical
love
Howling - could be sexual, pathetic
fallacy – violent weather conditions
indicate turbulence in life
Storm - damage, violent passions/
tantrums, pathetic fallacy – indicating
turbulence.
found out - caught, guilt, discovery
Bed - flower bed, death bed, bed for
sleeping or sexual congress
Crimson - red, blood, danger, death,
passion
Joy - happy, jolly, gay
Dark - evil, emotionally vulnerable,
spiralling down, sinister, mysterious
Secret - truth? Hiding something
Love - happiness, jealousy, powerful
emotion positive
Life - precious
Destroy - end of something,
annihilate, wipe out
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?”
What words or phrases seem to
go together?
Rose
Sick
Invisible
Worm
Night
Howling
Storm
found out
bed
crimson
joy
dark
secret
love
life
destroy
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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52_
FpZYer5M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V
qTwIeqkf8
The Sick Rose Theme of Love
In "The Sick Rose," love isn't what we expect it to be; it's not
that timeless, cohesive force that other poets, movies, and
books always talk about. It's "dark" and "secret" and doesn't
really do anything good for the rose; it's almost like a disease
that infects the rose and destroys it. Love definitely isn't all
you need in this poem.
Questions About Love
Are sex and love the same thing in this poem?
What is "dark secret love" anyway? Do you think it's a
euphemism for something else, like rape?
If "dark secret love" refers to sex, shouldn't it be private, i.e.
"secret"?
If this is a poem that has to do with love, why isn't there
anything happy or joyful in it? What is Blake saying about
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.