The William Blake poem 'The Sick Rose' and HD's poem 'Sea Rose' both deal with the imagery of a rose imperfect, but their imperfections come from different origins. They share the same subject of the rose, use sound elements of poetry, and employ clear, descriptive language, but these components create a different tone and atmosphere in each poem. Blake's poem addresses the rose and its relationship with the worm, establishing that the rose's flaws stem from this relationship. Contrary to this, HD's poem examines the weakness of the sea rose compared to the ordinary rose, but these flaws of the rose are a product of nature rather than the rose itself. While the poems observe the rose in different contexts, they both study the distortions of what is considered a symbol of beauty and love, namely the rose. The rose is common to both “The Sick Rose” and “Sea Rose” as a product of nature transformed into a subject of observation. However, this way of observing, reflected in the tone used, varies between the two poems. Both poems use strong language and sounds to describe the rose. In Blake's poem, this harshness is present in the title "The Sick Rose" and in the first line of the poem "O Rose, thou art ill" (1). The repetition of the words "sick" and "rose", which is in fact the only repetition found throughout the poem, places strong emphasis on the failure of the rose, on its "illness". The personal address, with the use of "o" and "tu", amplifies this lack, because it establishes the speaker's relationship to the rose, thus giving more weight to the declaration of the rose's illness coming from someone who knows the rose. main, "Sea Rose" from HD, while approaching the rose with ...... middle of paper ...... the challenges of its environment and as such is stronger than the traditional rose as symbol of sweet and sweet love. The use of harsh sound language and repetition in both poems contribute to the depiction of the imperfect rose, the rose that is considered unfit as a symbol of "love." Blake uses this image of his "sick rose" to express his opinion that love in literature has been corrupted, as the worm corrupts the rose. On the other hand, HD uses the imperfect rose, the "sea rose", as a more realistic representation of love, as opposed to the traditional flawless rose. Although HD and Blake present different themes related to love in their poem, they both chose the symbol of the rose to address the subject.BibliographyThe Norton Anthology of Poetry, ed. Margaret Ferguson, Mary Jo Salter, Jon Stallworthy, 5th ed. (London: WW Norton & Company, 2005)