The Sick Rose (commonly referred to as O Rose, thou art sick) is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Experience in 1794. Text of the poem 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. Themes The poem shares the common motifs of death and destruction in the collection, telling of a rose that has reached the end of its lifespan in the advent of the creeping winter. There are many references to the darker side of human nature in this poem, and the death resulting from it. The rose is slowly dismantled by a number of factors? the "invisible worm" and the "howling storm" in which the rose doesn't stand a chance. The "crimson joy" is perhaps the strongest link to human death, referring to a lust for blood. There may also b

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