Name : Ines Margaretha Sitompul

Nim : 200705063
Kajian Sastra Assigmen
“The Sick Rose” was written by the British poet William Blake. First published in Songs of
Innocence and Experience in 1794, it is one of Blake’s best-known poems, while also
remaining one of his most enigmatic. In eight short lines, the speaker addresses the “Rose” of
the title, telling it that an “invisible worm” has made it sick. This crafty worm has flown
through a stormy night to satisfy its “dark secret love” in the rose’s “bed”—an action that will
“destroy” the rose’s life.The title of this poem is informative regarding the themes that are
considered, with the connotations of both ‘sick’ and ‘rose’ relatively easy to identify, even for
those readers who may not have an interest in literature. The use of ‘sick’ is self explanatory,
used to describe something that is ill and decaying, with some readers perhaps seeing the
arguable use of personification as a reflection of the overall symbolism in the poem of the
rose. The choice of this flower is important due to its frequent association with chastity and
virginity, particularly at the time of writing, and the idea of a ‘literary rose’ and its link to
love and romance.
The poem is filled with symbolism, but there is a wide range of theories about what, exactly,
the worm and rose represent. Generally speaking, the worm is a corrupting figure, preying on
the innocent life-force of the beautiful rose. Both worm and rose are personified, and the
poem is heavy with the sexual suggestion—leading many critics to theorize that the poem
depicts the oppression of sexuality and desire by the Christian authorities of the day. It has
been necessary to investigate this highly taboo area of human belief in order to discover the
lost context of a poem like The Sick Rose. It was precisely such an investigation into the
taboos surrounding sex in his own age that Blake undertook. It is well-known that he
regarded the Pauline Christian attitude towards sex as unhealthy and as the cause of many
abnormalities. It warped the natural sexuality of young men and women; it corrupted family
life; it led to prostitution and venereal disease. Through enforced celibacy, it was also the
cause of much sexual prurience in the Church itself. In his poetry, Blake frequently attempted
to expose this diseased attitude to sex, and some of the key passages will be cited later. The
point I wish to make here is that The Sick Rose, far from being a vaguely romantic evocation
of the susceptibility of beauty to corruption, is in fact a detailed analysis of the causes of the
sexual malady of Blake’s times.
The poem begins with the speaker telling the rose that she is sick. This sickness is caused by
the “invisible worm.” The phallic-shaped worm comes to the rose at night in the middle of
“the howling storm.” There is a real sense of danger and dread in these lines that only builds
as the poem progresses and Blake makes use of enjambment. In the second stanza of ‘The
Sick Rose,’ the worm finds the rose’s bed. The rose is afflicted with the worm’s “dark secret
love” and has its life destroyed. The worm, which clearly represents a phallus, kills the rose
— the woman’s, virginity.