Comparison Between Poem Red, Red Rose and Sick Rose
Comparison between both poems, “Sick Rose” and “A Red, Red Rose” The poem “The Sick Rose” by William Blake is about a rose that has reached the end of its lifep in the arrival of winter. A rose usually symbolises love, beauty and romance, but in this poem the rose is sick. This reflects the damaged, hurt and destruction. The rose which represent as an ill woman which was damaged by the worm, which is represent as the man who has caused the harm to her.
The poem reveals the negative attitude of a man towards a woman, whom he destroys to satisfy his lust. Where else in the poem “A red, red Rose” by Robert Burns the poem is about a man who is deeply in love with his lover. The word red is repeated twice, which shows the great passion he has for his lover. It is a romantic love poem which has a positive attitude of a man towards a woman whom he loves by showing his great passion of love, which is growing deeper and deeper each day. Another comparison of the poem is respect.
In the “Sick Rose” the man destroyed the dignity of the woman. He ruin the life of a woman and caused her to be become ill. Where else in the “A Red,Red Rose” the man keep the dignity of a woman whom he is in love with and even praised her beauty. Besides that, the poem’s responsibility. In the “Sick Rose” the man is irresponsible, he does not care about woman. His intention is to ruin the life of the person he loves in the wrong way, where else in “A Red, Red Rose” the man’s action shows his loyalty of being a responsible person.
In the last stanza of the poem he said that he will return with love though he is ten thousand miles away from her, “And I will come again, my love, Thought I am ten thousand mile”. Furthermore the love in “Sick Rose” is a secret love of a man towards a woman. He used force and unhealthy way to get his love from the woman. His action and impatient behaviour has caused the damaged in the woman whom he loved secretly. Therefore, it shows the darker side of human nature. In “A Red, Red Rose” the man patiently and gradually release his love towards his lover.
He shows his passion in a decent way and he did not use any force. Burns used two similes to compare the love, the first “red, red rose” and the second is his love is like the “melody”. Both of simile shows a delicate form a love between a man and a woman. It also shows the brighter side of human nature. In “The Sick Rose”, the poem ends with a depressive tone where the beautiful rose was spoiled by the evil, lust of a man, but in “A Red, Red Rose”, the deep feeling of the man’s love is longer, even when he has to say farewell: “And fare you well, my love”.
Burns ends the poem in a tender, hopeful and inspiring note. The language of both, Blake and Burns’, in the poem interest the readers to find the hidden message behind it. The use of symbolic and figurative language written made both the poems very interesting and appealing to the readers’ mind. After comparing both poems both poems reflect the two opposite of a human soul as “The Sick Rose” is a dying rose while the “A Red, Red Rose” is a blessings rose.
