Blake Essay

Just as the central theme of Blake’s contrasting poem sets relates to “the two contrary states of the human soul”, the specific literary prose Blake implies in his literature also reflect the same consistent topic; for example, the jubilant tone of The Blossom clearly distinct itself from the depressed, sorrowful sounds in The Sick Rose. When a reader begins to digest The Blossom, he/she would chew it down at an easy and comfortable pace because the imagery all relates to joyful references. However, when the same reader shifts gears to The Sick Rose, he/she might experience a sense of unease and relative discomfort due to the sickening sight of the “invisible worm” and also the morbid decaying of a diseased rose.

A classic Romanticist poet of the 18th century, Blake’s preference of diction always seeks ways to convey strong, emotional feelings. His words are chosen for the purpose to create a lasting impact on the reader. For instance, throughout The Blossom, Blake repeatedly refers euphonic praises like “A happy Blossom sees you swift as arrow…” and “Pretty, Pretty Robin, Near my Bosom.” He places special emphasis on significant adjectives like “pretty” and “happy” to convey his jubilant setting. In addition, Blake also includes exclamation marks in many of his stanza starters like “Merry, Merry Sparrow!” and “Pretty, Pretty Robin!” The extra exclamation adds emotions and feelings to the words. Similarly, Blake also utilizes descriptive, powerful lines in The Sick Rose, but the ideas he conveys are totally opposite. Instead of applying a joyful ring to the rhyme, Blake sets the contrast by using a sickening, almost plague-like diction. His choice of words in The Sick Rose never fails to mention common ill-related phrases like “O rose, thou art sick!”, “In the howling storm,”, and “And his dark secret love does thy life destroy.” The poems in the two sets carry the same diction but they are linked up to completely polarizing subjects.