Diane Tarabay-Rodriguez
Have you received a rose for Valentine’s Day, or on a day that, for some reason, your lover was feeling a little romantic? You looked into their eyes and you felt an unexplainable feeling right between your chest, right? You completely ignored the rose at first. Do you know why? I do. That rose was not just a rose, it meant so much more. That love and romance that you thought had faded over time all of a sudden came back with the presence of such a beautiful rose.
Roses have become known to symbolize love, beauty, passion and romance. There are two poems that talk about a rose. H.D.’s “Sea Rose” and Punente’s “The Rose and the Poppy” both had a very creative way of talking about a rose in their poems.
In the poem, The Rose and The Poppy, Puente’s talks about the traditional symbol of a rose and completely opposes it and turns against it. For example, she states, “Not a ravishing ruby red” (Line 2) and “Nor am I a symbol of romance” (Line 5). She later writes, “I am wild in fields of green and blues” (Lines 11 and 12) and “like tangerines in an orchard of trees” (Line 14). Her poem is undeniably brilliant, but she does NOT challenge the traditional symbol of the rose. She states the typical symbol of a rose and then mentions that she is NOT like a rose.
On the other hand, in the poem, Sea Rose, H.D. effectively challenges the traditional symbol of the rose by talking about a rose that is ” marred and with stint of petals” (line 2). This shows a different type of rose, separate from the typical “beautiful” one. This specific rose is in no particular way a symbol of romance. In this case, the rose is meant to represent someone who has struggled. Even though the rose has seen some bad days, it is “more precious than a wet rose” (Line 5 and 6). Despite all the things this rose is going through, it’s still getting by. The struggles it has gone through is what makes it even more beautiful.
Introduction to Poetry 
Oct 10, 2019 @ 18:19:10
Just wonderful job in the introduction of your response catches my attention right away. one thing to work on is to better elaborate on the amount of evidence you include. In the third paragraph you site a lot of evidence but don’t seem to spend much time explaining it. Overall a solid response to the prompt.
LikeLike
Oct 14, 2019 @ 03:24:42
Diane, you had a wonderful hook, analyzed what The Rose and the Poppy’s difference upon the other poem, and the subliminal symbol of the beaten rose in H.D’s Sea Rose. While both are great poems, the prompt needs to be answered on which had contradicted the symbol of the rose more effectively.
LikeLike