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
Analysis of Poem
by Brent M. Jones
The rose and the worm represent humans. This rose is in a state of decay suggesting death is coming soon. The rose is feminine, delicate and represents love, loyalty and beauty,
The worm is masculine ( His dark secret love), invisible and comes at night. What happens is evil, secret and hurtful. What is done can't be found out and destroys the rose. Crimson joy and ‘dark secret love happen in the bed of the rose. The crimson color show the violence and passion and blood.
This seems like it may have been Blake's intent, but "why" was this his message? Was it a statement against the relationship of men and women? Was the masculinity of the worm the right relationship for the feminine rose? Perhaps Blake just was again in this poem just questioning the the accepted ideas of marriage in his day as so many authors and poets of that time did.
Was Blake so anxious to comment on male female relationships that he got this wrong? It was the bee that fertilized the rose. The worm just participated in the natural process of death. Blake was not alone among writers of the late 1800's in questioning the accepted ideas of marriage.