William Blake · first published 1794
The Sick Rose
Meaning, complete text, stanza guide, vocabulary, techniques and an explained quiz.
What the poem means
An unseen worm enters a rose's bed and destroys it through a secret, destructive form of love.
The first stanza announces sickness and gives the worm nocturnal motion; the second locates its hidden action inside the rose's “crimson joy.” The blunt final word “destroy” refuses to explain whether the allegory concerns sexuality, jealousy, disease or corrupted love.
The poem
Spelling and punctuation follow the checked source edition. Stanza links connect the text to the guide and quiz.
Stanza 1. O rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm,
Stanza 2. Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.
Stanza guide
Stanzas 1–2
Two compact quatrains set visible beauty against invisible damage. Because rose, worm, bed and storm can be read literally and symbolically, the poem makes secrecy itself the mechanism of harm and leaves the reader to test several interpretations.
Return to stanza 1 ↑Vocabulary
- crimson
- a deep red colour
- invisible
- unable to be seen
- howling
- making a long, loud, mournful sound
Literary techniques
Allegory
rose and worm form a miniature narrative
The physical scene invites moral, emotional and sexual interpretations without fixing one.
Personification
the rose has a bed and a life
Human qualities make the flower's violation feel intimate.
Colour imagery
“crimson joy” and “dark” love
Red pleasure and darkness bring desire and danger together.
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