About the Poet:
Blake was born in London. His father was a hosier. He received no formal schooling. But in his early years he enjoyed the works of Milton and Shakespeare. He also read the Bible.
William Blake (1757-1827) was the most powerful poet of the early romantic period. He was the guiding force of the later romantic literature in England. Before him reigned the age of prose and reason and after him came the poetry of imagination and vivid sensation.
Blake was obviously in the age of transition. He had great passion for liberty. He lived in the divine light of imagination. His creation both as a poet and an artist enriched the world literature.
Blake usually called a mystic. On the whole, Blake was a master artist of lyricism. He was a prophet and a poet . He was a visionary.
About the Poem:
The Sick Rose by William Blake is a short and suggestive poem. Within its brief canvas we have manifold meanings. Very rich is the poem in symbols. Blake is noted for his mystic vision.
The poem in question suggests the tragedy of man. It indicates man’s fall from the state of beauty and bliss, grace and innocence. The Sick Rose meets a painful death. A worm bites it. The rose shelters its unknowingly enemy. The worm finds the rose in its total grip. Thus is lost the earthly thing. Experience leads us to pain and remorse. We can’t remain innocent long. The Sick Rose reveals the truth.
THE SICK ROSE
– William Blake
Short Objective Type Questions:
Each Question mark – 1
1) Who composed the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans- William Blake composed the poem ‘The Sick Rose’.
2) Wherefrom is taken the poem ‘The Sick Rose’?
Ans- The poem The Sick Rose is taken from Blake’s The Songs of Experience.
3) What sickens the rose?
Ans- The invisible worm sickens the rose.
4) What kind of poem is The Sick Rose?
Ans- The Sick Rose is a symbolic poem.
Also read: Important S.A.Q Answers from ‘BROTHERHOOD’ | Class – 11 | WBBSE
5) What does the rose symbolize here?
Ans- Here the rose stands for innocence, love and beauty.
6) Why is the worm that attacks the rose is called invisible?
Ans- The worm that attacks the rose flies at night and so it remains invisible in deep darkness.
7) When does the invisible worm fly?
Ans- The invisible worm is flies in stormy night.
8) “In the howling storm….” – What happenes in the howling storm?
Ans- In the howling storm comes flying the invisible worm and takes shelter in the bosom of the blooming rose.
9) What makes the worm joyful?
Ans-The worm is joyful as it finds in the rose a resting place.
10) What happens, when the worm finds out the bed of crimson joy?
Ans-The worm finds out the bed of crimson joy in the bosom of the rose and then it kills the flower.
11) What biblical reference does the poem The Sick Rose contain?
Ans- Blake’s poem The Sick Rose contains the biblical reference of the Fall of Man.
12) Why does the rose fail to prevent the attack of the worm?
Ans- The rose fails to prevent the attack of the worm because of its dark secret love.
13) What does the worm do to the rose?
Ans- The worm sickens the rose and gradually perished it.
14) How many stanzas are there in the poem The Sick Rose?
Ans- The Sick Rose contains two short stanzas.
15) “Has found out thy bed/ Of Crimson Joy:” – Who is joyful?
Ans- The worm that resides in the rose is joyful.
16) “And his dark secret love….’ – Why is the love called dark and secret?
Ans- The worm loves the rose. But the love is called dark and secret because this love leads it to death. It is cruel and invisible.
17) What does the poet say to the rose by addressing it?
Ans- By addressing the rose the poet says to it that it is sick because the worm is affecting it badly.
18) Who destroys the life of the rose?
Ans- The invisible worm destroys the life of the rose.