Explication

A Sick Rose

William Blake

A Sick Rose

O Rose, thou art sick,The invisible worm,That flies in the nightIn the howling storm

Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy :And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy.

O Rose, thou art sick,

Break the poem downChoose the most important words Brainstorm: do not second guess yourself at this pointUse a diagram or free-write

BeautyLove/

Romance

Woman’s Name

Rose

Sick: infection, disease, physical? mental?

Keep Brainstorming

Remember: don’t edit yourself

There is no such thing as “wrong” at this point

Highlight, underline, circle, write in the margins, etc.

Nouns = underlined

Verbs = circled

Modifiers = highlighted

O Rose, thou art sick,The invisible worm,That flies in the nightIn the howling storm

Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy :And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy.

Mysterious; dark

Links with “night;” evil?

Animal; fear? Frightening?

Destruction, chaos, link with “storm?”

Group and Analyze

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 crimsonLove, passion

Night and darkEvil, darkness

Destroy, storm, worm, howlingDestruction, death, chaos

Rose, love, bed, crimson, joyPassion, sex, love

Developing Themes

Choose one or more themesDestruction/death/illnessPassion/love

Write about how the themes are linkedWhat do the themes have in common?How might the themes contrast?

Examplespassion can be both positive and negative, destructive and creativeLove and passion can lead to both emotional and physical “illnesses” and “destruction,” i.e. jealousy, death of the relationship, unwanted pregnancy, STD’s, etc.

Time to Write

Reconstruct the textOrganize thematically or chronologically

Retell “the story of the poem” using your new-found insights

Write about the implications, the things the poet didn’t say

Keep in Mind

Explications are reader-response exercises

Reader response = what the poem means to youYou do NOT need to “research”

Explication is a skillIt CAN be learnedAnyone can do it

Explications are NOT writing-intensive exercises

You don’t have to be a “good” essay writer, just a “good” thinker