William Blake My Pretty Rose Tree
"My Pretty Rose-Tree," written by William Blake, is a poem of love, jealousy, and sorrow. This eight-line poem, following the abab acac rhyme pattern, is full of strong symbolism and a great deal of personification, all used in an attempt to express the narrator's feelings. William Blake brings the flowers alive with the personified characteristics he has given to them. Blake is describing a man who is completely in-love with one women, while at the same time he is being tempted by another. This man's love for his lady at home is so great that he "passed the sweet-flower o'er" (Line 4) and returns home. When he tells his lady of the encounter she leaves him because of extreme jealousy. This poem seems like it could be a wonderful love poem with the whole rose/flower theme, but it turns into a sorrowful disaster story leaving all three characters in the poem devastated and alone. Blake's great use of symbolism brings the poem to life. "And her thorns were my only delight" (Line 8). This line fits the poem so perfectly. Such a delicate flower is the rose, but if one is not careful the thorns can break the skin and cause great pain. This describes exactly how the man is feeling in the poem. This man deserves great pity, because h
Blake, William. "My Pretty Rose-Tree." Ed. Barbara Lloyd-Evans, Five Is it possible for one person to be completely perfect and pure? If so, then is it conceivable to think that one specific type of flower can sum up the love a person feels for another? William Blake writes about someone who finds the perfect person, only to find out that they are not so pure and wonderful as first thought. Blake tries to give love a name, or a category, when he knows that it is not possible to do such a thing. Whether it is a rose, a lily, a garden, or a sunflower, William Blake finds a way to make love seem like it is the most pure feeling a person can have.
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Approximate Word count = 830
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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