The Sick Rose Questions and Answers
Mark – 1 Short Answer-Type
When does the worm fly?
Or, During What time of the day does the worm fly?
Ans. The worm flies at the night of the howling storm.
What destroys the life of the rose?
Ans. The dark secret love of the worm destroys the rose’s life.
What colour is the rose’s joy ?
Ans. The colour of the rose’s joy is crimson.
How has the storm been described in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. In the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ the storm has been described as howling.
What has the worm found out?
Ans. The worm has found out the rose’s bed of crimson joy.
What does the rose stand for?
Ans. The rose stands for the innocence and purity of love.
7 Why is the rose sick?
Ans. The rose is sick because an invisible worm is destroying its core.
& When did the worm creep into the rose’s bed?
Ans. The worm crept into the rose’s bed in a night of howling storm.
Who is the poet of the poem ‘The Sick Rose?
Ans. The poet of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ is William Blake.
10 Where is the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ taken from?
Ans. The poem ‘The Sick Rose’ has been taken from William Blake’s ‘Song of Experience’.
11 When was the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ brought out?
Ans. The poem ‘The Sick Rose’ was first brought out in 1794.
12 What is the rhyme scheme used in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. The rhyme scheme used in the poem is abcbdefe.
13 What Kind of Poem is ‘The Sick Rose’ by William Blake?
Ans. ‘The Sick Rose’ by William Blake is a symbolical poem.
14 What does the ‘dark secret love’ of the worm do to the rose?
Ans. The ‘dark secret love’ of the worm destroys the life of the rose.
15 What is described as ‘crimson’ in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. The joy of the worm in Rose’s bed is described as crimson.
16 What flies in the night of ‘howling storm’?
Ans. An invisible worm flies in the night of howling storm.
17 Whom does the poet address in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
I
Ans. The poet addresses the Rose in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’.
18 To whom is the worm invisible?
Ans. The worm is invisible to the rose.
19 Whose bed has the worm found out?
Ans. The worm has found out the bed of Rose.
20 Wheredid the worm find its bed?
Ans. The worm found its bed in the soft red petals of the rose.
21 What is the cause of the rose’s sickness?
Ans. The passionate and lustful love of the worm is the cause of the rose’s sickness.
22 What biblical reference does ‘The Sick Rose’ contain?
Ans. Blake’s ‘The Sick Rose’ contains the biblical reference of the fall of man.
23 What is the allegorical significance of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ ?
Ans. ‘The Sick Rose’ is symbolical because the destruction of innocence by illicit love is hinted at the poem.
24 What is the inner meaning of the poem, The Sick Rose’?
Ans. The inner meaning of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ is the distruction of innocence by experience.
Whose joy is referred to in expression ‘crimson joy’
Ans. The joy of the worm is referred to as ‘crimson joy’,
26 What does the word ‘his’ suggest in the expression secret love’ ‘his dark secret love’?
Ans. The usage of ‘his ‘ suggests that the worm is thought to be a male.
27 Whose life is destroyed by ‘the dark secret
Ans. The life of the rose is destroyed by ‘the dark secret love.’
28 Why is the worm called invisible ?
Ans. The worm is called invisible because it flies in the darkness of a stormy night.
29 What does the ‘worm’ in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ stand for?
Ans. The worm in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ stands for corruption through experience.
30 How does the poet describe the love of the worm?
Ans. The poet has described the love of the worm as dark and secret.
31 How is the night when the worm in the poem ‘The Sick Rose flies?
Ans. The worm flies in the night of howling storm.
Long Answer Type / Descriptive Type Marks-5
‘Has found out thy bed / of crimson joy’— Whom does the word ‘thy’ refer to ? What did he find and when? What does the expression ‘crimson joy suggest? [1 + 2 + 2 = 5]
Ans. In William Blake’s symbolical poem ‘The Sick Rose ‘thy’ refers to the rose.
The invisible worm stole into the innermost part of the rose’s bed. If got intimate with the rose in her bed in the darkness of a night in which storm howled. ‘Crimson’ is a dark red colour. The colour of rose is referred to here. The rose is purely innocent. It caters the spirit of love. It is invisibly infected and finally perished by the worm-a malicious force ‘Crimson joy’ suggests deep passionate love or carnal bliss.
What is the allegorical significance of the poem, ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. The poem ‘The Sick Rose’ begins with a poetic voice calling a rose and warning it about its sickness. Then the poet explains that the rose has fallen sick for the dark secret love of a worm that has found out its bed. The poet regrets that the invisible worm that flies in the night of howling storm is destroying the rose’s life. But this narrative of the rose and worm is only its outer meaning. It has allegorical meaning too. The poet wants to convey the message that innocence is thus destroyed by the worldly experience. As the poem conveys its meaning in two layers, it is allegorical in nature and signifies the message about the erosion of innocence by experience.
Comment on the implications of the worm’s love destroying the rose’s life.
Ans. The worm in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ is the symbol of worldly experience. The worm is portrayed as a deceitful, secretive creature that flies in the ominous night of howling storm. It has stealthily entered into the bed of the rose. Here it loves the rose with its dark secret love and gratifies itself with crimson joy by corrupting the innermost core of the rose and destroying its very life. The love of the worm is not genuine as he loves it for his own pleasure without any care for the rose’s well-being. This implies that it is a false guise of love that brings forth destruction and death through worldly experience.
Bring out the central idea of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’. Or, What is the central idea of the poem ‘The Sick Rose? ‘
Ans. The poem ‘The Sick Rose’ is allegorical in nature. It means that it has a surface meaning and underneath it the poem conveys a message on moral issues. Outwardly we find that the poet warns a rose about its sickness. He tells the rose that an invisible worm has found its bed and with his dark secret love he is leading the rose towards death. But through this narrative the poet wants to convey the message that our innate innocence symbolized by the rose is destroyed by the worldly experience of lust and passion symbolized by the worm.
Justify the title of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. The title of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ directly hints about the main narrative in the poem. Without much ado the poet calls a rose and tells the flower that she is Sick. Then he explains the cause of the rose’s illness. He relates that an invisible worm that flies in the stormy night has entered into the flower’s innermost core and with his dark secret love is destroying the life of the rose. Thus, the title, quite competently encompasses the thematic content of the poem, namely, the sickness of the rose. Again, the title with its hint of personification indicates its allegorical undertone.
6 How has the poet described the worm and its activities in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. In the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ the poet has described the worm in detail. The worm flies in the night of howling storm and it is invisible to the rose. The rose is unaware that the worm has found out the bed of the rose. In the bed of the rose the worm turns crimson in joy with his dark secret love for the rose. Though he derives joy out of his love, actually he is destroying the rose with his secretive and dark love. The poet has imagined the worm as a male and it is aggressive and greedy in nature.
How has the poet personified the rose in the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans. From the very first line of the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ the poet has personified the rose. He has not only addressed the rose but at the same time he has used the initial capital letter in the spelling of rose. It indicates that it has been personified. Then he has used the personal pronoun ‘thou’ for the rose. Again, all along human attributes like the sickness or having a bed etc. have been imposed upon the rose. Though the poet has ascertained the gender of the worm by using ‘his’, it is quite evident from the symbolical implication that rose is imagined as feminine.
‘And his dark secret love/Does thy life destroy’ – Who is referred to by ‘his? Whose life does ‘he’ destroy? How does it destroy the life? [1 + 1 + 3 = 5]
Ans. The invisible worm is referred to by ‘his’.
He destroys the life of the innocent rose. The rose is innocent and unaware of the presence of the invisible worm. The deceitful worm flies to the rose bed of innocent rose in the darkness of night. There, he is gratifying himself with great pleasure at the cost of the rose’s life. The idea is that love can also have destructive consequences.
– ‘O, Rose thou art sick, ‘ Why, according to the poet is the rose sick?
Ans. The invisible worm flies in the night of howling storm.
Ans. The poet has addressed the rose in his poem and declared that the rose is sick. Then he tells about the cause of his sickness. He informs the rose that a worm which flies in the night of raging storm has stealthily entered into its bed. This worm is destroying the life of the rose with his dark and secret love. At the same time it gets crimson pleasure from the rose’s bed. The rose is unaware of the worm’s deceitful and destructive activity. The poet warms the rose, that internally it is losing its life-blood and getting sick.
‘The invisible worm. That flies in the night’-In what weather does the invisible worm fly? How does it spoil the rose? [1 + 4 =5]
The invisible worm is dark and nefarious in its activities. It is invisible and steals into the bed of the rose. There it spoils the innermost core of the rose with his dark secret love. The worm derives extreme joy from the rose. The innocent rose who is unaware of his presence gets corrupted by his aggressive and ominous love.
How does the poet William Blake use symbols inthe poem ‘The Sick Rose?
Ans. In the poem ‘The Sick Rose’ the poet William Blake has conveyed his message on life and spirituality by the use of symbols. Blake believed that humans are born with innate innocence but the innocence gets eroded by the worldly experience of lust, greed and carnal pleasure. In this poem the flower rose is the symbol of beauty, purity and innocence. The worm evokes the image of Satan, the serpent in the Bible. The nefarious worm with its deceitful nature stands for the worldly experience of carnal pleasure that corrupts the celestial influence with which humans are born. Again the colour crimson is the symbol of sexual pleasure and also of sin. The night of howling storm is the passion that torments the mind. In this way the poet has used major and minor symbols in this short poem.
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