Class-XI
Poetry
Chapter- 3
The Sick Rose
-William Blake
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| The Sick Rose Broad Questions and Answers |
Broad Questions and Answers (Long Questions and Answers)
1) Give the central idea of the poem “The Sick Rose”.
Ans: The poem ‘The Sick Rose’ is about a rose and a worm, more than that, there is some inner meaning in the poem. The words such as ‘rose’ and ‘worm’, ' joy’ and' destroy’ are paired off. The first words in both pairs like ‘rose’, ‘joy’ suggest beauty and happiness, whereas the second words in both pairs like ‘worm’ and ‘destroy’ suggest evil and decay. It seems that the dark secret lover i.e. the worm travels in a stormy night and stealthily finds out the warmth of the “bed of crimson joy’ and destroys the life of the rose. While good or virtue is indicated by “bed of crimson joy’, evil is indicated by a number of words, such as ‘sick’, ‘worm ', ' night ', ‘storm ', ' dark ', ‘secret ', ‘destroy’ etc. So the very central theme of the poem is the destruction of virtue by evil.
2) Justify the appropriateness of the title of the poem “The Sick Rose”.
Ans:The poem “The Sick Rose” describes the death and destruction of a rose. But, this death is unnatural. The death of the rose is due to the attack of a vicious warm. The innocent flower ‘rose’ fails to understand the evil intention of the cruel worm. The flower is the victim of the lustful desire of the worm. Now the title of the poem has a clear and direct suggestion to the on-coming crisis in the life of the innocent flower ‘rose’. The title points out the innocence of the rose. The striking contrast in it gives a sudden shock to the readers. The word ‘sick’ is the keyword in the poem. It makes us prepared for what is going to happen in the life of the rose. It brings in a sense of sadness. So, the title of the poem is very apt in every sense.
3) Write down the summary of the poem The Sick Rose along with a note of symbolism in it.
Ans: The poem starts with an impassioned address to the rose by the poet. He is deeply mortified to see the rose sick. The unseen worm, which flies in the deep darkness of the stormy night, creeps in it. The worm makes its bed in the rose. It starts to bite the rose. The flower bleeds. With every bite of the worm, drop of blood is shed. The lively rose sickens. It does not know the danger it calls in by sheltering the worm. The worm thrives destroying the rose merrily. The rose gradually loses all its purity and beauty. Finally, the sickening rose meets death.As a symbolic poem, it bears a deeper meaning. The rose stands for innocence, purity, love and beauty. The worm, on the other hand, is the symbol of experience, evil, jealousy and selfishness. The deadly bite of evil makes love sick. Innocence is destroyed by experience, beauty by jealousy. So was the case with Adam and Eve, the First Men. Their innocence and heavenly glories were spoiled by Satan’s evil devices.
4) What is the allegorical significance of the poem, "The Sick Rose"?
Ans: "The Sick Rose" allegorizes the triumph of experience over innocence. Outwardly, it is a simple poem. It shows how a beautiful rose is attacked by a destructive worm on a stormy night. The love of the worm for the rose is said to be dark and secret. But it has a deeper meaning. Allegorically, the poem tells about the fall of an innocent woman. When the woman loses her virginity to a very unfaithful and deceitful man, she feels sick and ashamed. The worm evokes the biblical character of Satan, the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve and brought about their fall.Thus, the poem focuses on the fall of mankind from a state of innocence.
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