"Perfect Rose"

Wednesday, February 7, 2012

                            Photographed by Canon in 2006
                                          from Wikipedia
             

This week We are learning about symbol and illusion in class, so i decided to write an entry on Micheal Ferber's "Rose"which was published in 2000.

First, here is my paragraph of the entry:

           " There were several varieties of rose in the ancient world, as there are hundreds in the modern, but the rose in poetry has always been red (or "rose") in color, unless otherwise described. "Red as a rose" is the prime poetic cliche, and poets have used every other term for red to describe it, such as shakespeare's "deep vermilion"(sonnets98) or the "crimson joy" of Blake's"Sick Rose". The rose blooms in the spring, and does not bloom long; the contrast is striking between its youth in the bud and its full-blown maturity, and again between both these phases and its final scattering petals on the ground, all in the course of a week or two. It is rich in perfume, which seems to emanate from its dense and delicate folds of petals. It is vulnerable to the canker-worm. And it grows on a plant with thorns. All these features have entered into range of symbolic uses."

Paraphrase of the paragraph:
         
             Roses came in quite a few varietes and there are hundreds of them in the modern world. They bloom in the Spring and does not stay for long and appreciated their smell in delicate folds of petals. This type of flower has been used in poetry for many years and always described in the same color, red. poets throughout the years have used every other kind of term for red to describe it. Some of them include "deep vermilion" from Shakespear and "crimson joy" of Blake's "Sick Rose".


             I chose this paragraph because whenever I think of a rose, the first thing that comes into my mind is the color red and also its purity. From my country, I have learned that in poems, the rose represents a girl. We compare a girl's character with roses, because of their purity and beauty.


"Rose." Dictionary of Literary Symbols. ED. Michael Ferber.
     Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge,1999.172-177.
     Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.