The Sick Rose

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

O Rose thou art sick. 

The invisible worm, 

That flies in the night 

In the howling storm: 

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy.

This is intended for criticism of a literary text using  formalist approach.

As you go through the poem and encounter the first line, there is a chance that you will make an impression that the one being referred to as "Rose" in the first stanza is a flower, but as you continue to read the following lines you will make an interpretation that the one referred to as a "Rose" is a  woman that is sick. Following the second line, we can  interpret the "invisible worm" as the reason why the woman become sick. The "night in the howling storm"  found in the third and fourth stanzas can support our interpretation that the sickness was serious and that the woman is suffering.

This interpretation was strengthen when we proceed to the next stanza and encounter the lines which says that the invisible  worm had found its crimson joy in the woman's body and because of it, the woman's life was destroyed.

Varying individuals can come up with various interpretation and analysis  as  he/she reads and analyzes the poem.  May it be correct or wrong we cannot tell for every text contains ambiguity  in the sense that every reader interprets it according to his/ her own understanding of the feelings, emotions and mood the literary text is trying to portray.

The Lady and Her Five Suitors

The Lady and Her Five Suitors is a story about a woman who was clever enough to think of plans that can help her and her lover escape from the hands of the woman's five suitors.

 The woman was a merchant's wife but since her husband is always on his business trip she fall in love with a young man. One day the young man got into a fight and he was put into prison. The lady love him so much that she did everything she can to  help her lover go out of prison. 

She  wore the best dress she have and  first went to the house of the Chief of Police. She told the Chief of Police that the prisoner was her brother. She also convinced him that the prisoner was innocent and he was only a victim of  lies of those who testified against him. She even ask for his pity when she said that she has no one to support her needs except her brother. The Chief of Police fall in love with her and agreed to release her brother only if she agreed to the Chief of Police's conditions. The lady agreed to the condition of the police provided that he will be the one to go to the lady's house.

 The lady then went to the Cadi of the City and begged him to help her with her brother's concern. The Cadi also fall in love with her and only agreed to release her brother if she agree to the Cadi's conditions. The lady then agreed with the Cadi's condition and told him the same thing she told the Chief of Police. She then proceed to the Vizier and told him the same thing she told the Police and the Cadi. The Vizier also fall in love with her and made the same condition just like the two men before him and the lady did the same thing. She then motioned to the King and told him about her brother's story  and the King made a promise to release her brother if she will let him enjoy her. The lady agreed to the Kings demand with the condition that he will go to her house.  She then ask a carpenter to build a cabinet for her with four compartments with padlocks on each door. The carpenter  also fall in love with her that she also told her the same thing she said to the four men she had encountered. 

The set date came and the five suitors went one by one into the  lady's house. The lady ask the five suitors one by one to enter in one of the compartments of the cabinet because her husband is coming. She then locked the door of each cabinet and ran away to a far city together with her lover. The five suitors left stuck in the cabinet for days peeing at each other.

The story talks about a rivalry in love, an issue that is normal in real life setting. It is an imitation of the real life situation wherein a man by nature is polygamous. They are easily inspired and carried away by temptations that they often forget how to think wisely. This also shows how the writer imitates the truth that not at all times a woman can be fooled or used by men specially by those who are in power. The story also tells to us the practice that woman  fron long ago were actually underestimated and disrespected by men, that a story was written to show that women are in equal   footing with men when it comes to being clever and wise.

The story was taken from The Arabian Knights wherein there is no confirmation when did the story was written. It usually involves stories of scandal and treachery and often involves women who were faithless. Ironically, this also shows that women are quiet intelligent in the sense that in  a place or world were man are considered more superior than women, it takes a lot of  cleverness to break the rules set by men.

---