Roses have continually, since long in the past, stood for romance, innocence, purity, or even ironically lust as well. Historically and culturally (at least in the west), the man has always given the rose to the woman as a symbol of his love for her, defining this flower out of the many items in the world as the ideal gift between heterosexual couples living in a patriarchal world.
Both H.D. and Puente’s poems turn the expectation of the rose as a symbol on its head in their own ways. However, I believe H.D.’s poem flips the meaning of the rose in such a shocking and unapologetic way compared to the stereotype, “perfect rose” as poet Dorothy Parker would put it.
Most of this upturning of the symbol comes from the diction H.D. uses surrounding the rose. “Stunted,” “acrid,” “flung,” “stint,” “meager” — there is practically a negatively-connotated word on every line of the poem, which only repeats and bashes in the idea that the rose is not a delicate, beautiful thing, but one that is broken, disgusting, and shriveled. Not only if the diction negatively-connotated, but it also charges all of our senses. We can smell or taste the acridness, we can feel the impact of being flung aside, and see the the marred state of a dying, bruised rose.
Now, not only does it describe the rose as disgusting, but it encourages us to use our senses to hold this idea more tangible, which then only emphasizes the fact that the rose is no symbol of love, beauty, grace, and all else. H.D., with no hesitation or guilt, opens and packs her short poem full of punches as she doesn’t give the reader a moment to think back on the traditional symbol of a rose. Instead, she insists that we see and recognize its grotesque qualities that so boldly challenges our cultural understanding that we cannot draw our eyes away.
The “Sea Rose” poem by H.D. shamelessly tells the reader to disregard whatever definition of the rose they had before and provokes them to consider her definition instead, thus challenging us to not only redefine that which has been engraved in our culture for centuries, but also rethink our own culture of a heterosexual, patriarchal society in which the rose stands as its prime symbol.
Caitlyn Klemm
Introduction to Poetry 
Oct 10, 2019 @ 18:45:30
Good choice of words to describing how H.D. in a “shocking and unapologetic way” he depicts his poem. Great job of supporting your argument as to why you believe H.D. poem does a better job of challenging the traditional symbol of a rose. One thing you can improve on is maybe including Puente’s poem to help the reader understand why you believe her poem is inferior when to comes to challenging the traditional symbol of the rose. In the end great structure and your answer to the prompt was done quite effectively.
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