My Letter to You

The poem that I have selected in writing an imitation of was called “Song” by Edmund Waller. At first, I had difficulty in finding exactly what poem I wanted to imitate as my own creation. I looked through many of the poems we had gone through since the beginning of the semester up till this following day, but I knew I wanted to write a love poem. So I remember this poem after searching and thought this would be a really great use of what today’s world may be interpreted with the importance of acknowledgment, fearlessness, and acceptance. 

For this poem, I wanted to follow the same areas of which the rhyming was taking place and the structure from Walter’s, but right at the beginning of my poem, I decided to indent a full line to make it look like this is a letter written to a loved one by including “My dearest rose”. There were debates whether I should have included “Dear rose” but it wouldn’t really make much sense; it would sound as if this letter/poem is referring to someone named Rose. On the second line of my first paragraph, you can see that I had entered a large pause or silence, “It’s been long since I’ve last seen you…” Not only that, but I added another indented line to emphasize how much time had passed since the reader had not seen their beloved one. The pause gives it a more in depth, saddened tone as my first paragraph demonstrates remembrance for the lover; the snow reflects the purity of their love and longing of not being able to see or be without their lover. In today’s world it can be challenging to want to be with someone so badly but many don’t want to take that risk, so all there is left are the memories. Aside from this, this poem was similar to a Shakespearean Sonnet since it followed many of the rhyming schemes, since there needs to be 4 lines in each quatrain but for this poem, there are 5 lines. However, it does include a couplet on the very last line (20) but so does the three other paragraphs in my poem, including Walter’s. In addition, since traditionally a sonnet needs 18 lines with three other quatrains, it breaks the traditional standards which brings me back to my second paragraph of the poem. Originally, Walter’s poem describes his lover as someone who turns away from their own beauty but doesn’t point it out as strongly, and because this poem was written as a letter to a lover, I decided to make it an obvious factor. I used describing words such as ruby, red, and beauty to indicate how beautiful their lover is regardless of how they view themselves as. With that being said, traditionally a rose is known for its loving symbol but it also shares its side of which it may unseemingly know its worth.

This leads me to my third paragraph of my poem that begins to search for the value of their lover. Unfortunately, there are many today who do not acknowledge their own worth or believe they’re not as beautiful as they may think. This part of my poem really brings the understanding of accepting your beauty while also sharing how those who shy away from opportunities can miss out. In Walter’s poem he mentioned “Small is the worth” (11) and “Suffer herself to be desired” (14) which indicated to me that his lover’s worth was completely demolished by her own; she suffers which leads her to closing up, just like in my poem I included “The worth I seek remains in a single bud” (15-6). Even if your lover can’t accept any compliments given, they can shy away or even be embarrassed from how much praise is shown. In Walter’s poem he didn’t really mention how he felt about his lover, so I included that in the third paragraph “Don’t hide what makes me weak”. I decided to show a connection between the reader and their lover to get the sense of emotion that hiding all that makes you who you are, will only want to be near them more. As for the last paragraph in the original poem, Walter’s choice of words were so surprising to me that I had to change the words to my poem. His last paragraph reads “Then die! that she, the common fate of all things rare, may lead in thee, how small a part of time they share, that are so wondrous sweet and fair!” When I first read the beginning of that line, it felt like a jump scare at first. How can you just tell someone you love to die? So of course I had to make a change that hopefully didn’t sound harsh, “Then all should perish! if beautiful, cannot be compared to you, all is wilted and sorrowful! May all things stunning be the last thing I knew, only then life had become less sweet and true!” As you can see, I created it to be less abrupt and referred to it as having an angered tone to get the sense of feeling that your lover is what holds the meaning of beauty, so if all things that were beautiful vanished, then that would mean their lover and the rose wouldn’t exist either. In addition, an extra exclamation mark was added onto my imitation of the poem to understand the frustration the reader has to want for their lover to acknowledge themselves positively. In other words, to accept how you look is what makes a part of something large, you can’t shy away but embrace your value and beauty, no matter how many times you doubt it. 

Celeste Tejeda-Menera

I am the Poppy

When I first read this poem while doing the assignment, I was so impressed that I decided to recreate the emotions of the poem exactly as I felt the poem. And that’s what I recreated ‘The Rose and The Poppy.’ The main point of my poem is Poppy. Therefore, I wrote the poem in the shape of a ‘flower’ resembling Poppy. The order of reading this poem is not fixed; the audience can read it as they want.

In the original poem ‘The Rose and The Poppy’, the poet strongly asserts the poppy’s uniqueness in contrast to the rose. Furthermore, the poet explains the original beauty of the poppy. Hence, I compared the various colors of the Rose to the orange color of the Poppy. And I wrote about the uniqueness of the poppy. Additionally, I recreated every beautiful phrase from the original poem as I understood them while reading. For example, the original poem explains the beauty of the rose using the past and the future timeline. I really like this method, because it means the rose is very common and everyone can remember all the moments with their rose. So, I twist this part and emphasize the symbol of the rose, love.

The lines at the top of the flower petals all represent the differences between the Rose and the Poppy. The part corresponding to the stigma of the flower describes the Poppy itself. The lines at the bottom of the petals all highlight the characteristics of Poppy. Particularly, since the original poem does not mention the narcotic addiction that Poppies are known for, I incorporated this aspect to emphasize Poppy’s free will and identity. A poppy is a flower that someday has to wilt and drop its leaves into the ground. So, when someone sees poppies in the field, one can only see the flower and stem. Inspired by this, I wrote the stem section exactly as in the original poem. Because the entire words in the original poem gave me the feeling of the poppy’s personality and free will. In the stem part, while the original poem mentions ‘scenting rooms,’ I changed it to ‘Nature’ to emphasize the free will of Poppy. Since the Poppy is a part of the flower that I mentioned, it cannot last forever. And the feeling that it will wither someday, ‘Rotting into umber,’ is included to capture the essence of the original poem.

~Jisoo Jang

The Lies of Roses

H.D’s “Sea Rose” more effectively challenges the symbolism and image that roses have built up over time by subservting what the readers expect when seeing the word rose, when compared to Adrianna Puente’s “The Rose and The Poppy.” When one begins to analyse a poem, the first thing that the reader notices would be the title, and in said title one sees the word rose; due to the constant use of roses in human culture, one immediately pictures a flower full of vitality, color, and allure and also one can think of romance. Now taking this idea and reading the first, there is a stark division between the image of a beautiful rose and a “harsh rose,” this allows for the reader to form the idea that the poem will not be singing praises of the rose, but rather attempt to deconstruct the rose. The “harsh rose” no longer gives the impression of a flower which one would want to receive but rather one which one would attempt to avoid.
This becomes further emphazied by the diction in the next line in which the rose is “marred and with stint of petals.” The manner in which the rose is described, “marred,” showcases that the rose is not the picturesque flower that comes to mind, but rather a rose which is disfigured or of subpar beauty. The flower which should symbolize one’s undying adoration for another, now has become a decrepit version of itself, thus beginning to dismantle what the rose stands for. A person attempting to woo another would not give their beloved a “meagre flower, thin, / sparse of leaf,” as this would seem like an insult rather than a proclamation of love. When one thinks of what makes a rose grand, the first image that appears would be a bouquet of roses, lush in color and leaves, the grand opposite of what is showcased in the poem. The flower which should be full of adoration has now become a twisted version of itself, and insead of inspiring admiration simply compels a look of disgust due to it “[driping] such acrid fragrance” which repels love.
Isaac Ruiz

Imperfections

There are many symbols of a rose. Some may see it as a symbol of love, pain or death, but it also represents a woman’s perfections and imperfections. After analyzing both poems, I found H.D’s “Sea Rose” poem to be the most effective in challenging the traditional symbol of the rose. The poem questions the conventional meaning of the rose by contrasting a flawed rose with a beautiful rose and narrating the journey of the sea rose, which has imperfections that make it difficult for it to survive in the environment, with the easy existence of the spice-rose.

This poem has a lot of imagery, which is important when challenging the traditional rose. A traditional rose is meant to be perfect and have no flaws. Meaning they have the perfect curves and color, which is what everyone expects from a rose. In this poem, the rose is described as “harsh,” “marred,” “stint,” “meagre,” “thin,” and “sparse.” This rose is being compared to some women and how their characteristics don’t reach the society’s expectations. 

The speaker starts off the poem describing the rough characteristics of the rose. In this poem, the rose is a woman and her imperfections are compared to a rose that is close to death: “harsh rose/ marred and with a stint of petals/ meagre flower thin/ sparse of leaf.” The speaker then starts praising the rose, saying how it’s more special than a traditional rose and independent: “single on a stem.” The situation occurs at a beach when the rose is “caught in the drift.” The speaker starts addressing the reader, saying “you” are the rose. Even though the rose is independent, it is still a small rose: “with small leaf.” Since the rose is seen as a harsh and thin flower, it is still seen as a weak flower. The speaker goes on to say how the rose is being moved and controlled by the environment (society): “flung/ lifted/ drives in the wind.” Stanza 3 shows how the “sea rose” has a hard journey and is fighting to survive against the environment that is trying to keep the rose under control and following their expectations to make the rose perfect. 

The last stanza mentions the spice-rose, which is a traditional rose that has many perfections compared to the sea rose. The sea rose in this poem is shown how it starts off as a weak flower and then has to fight against society and their expectations in order to survive. The spice-rose is seen to have a simple and easy life since it’s already perfect. The poem challenges the traditional symbol of the rose because it compares an imperfect rose to a perfect rose, by showing the journey of the sea rose and how its flaws make it hard for it to survive in the environment, while the spice-rose has an easy life. 

Gurranvir Kaur

Challenging the Rose

H.D.’s poem, titled “Sea Rose”, is most effective in challenging the traditional symbol of the rose compared to Adrianna Puente’s poem, “The Rose and the Poppy”. In the first stanza, the speaker describes a singular rose through a negative tone. The tone has been set by a variety of negative diction used throughout the stanza. Line one begins, “Rose, harsh rose,” (H.D.). This is the speaker addressing the rose, but they immediately call it unappealing. They then continue by calling it “marred”, “stint”, “meagre”, and “thin”. All of these words create a negative image of the first rose being described in the poem. Already, this challenges the traditional notions of romance because not a single good thing is mentioned about the rose. It is not praised for its color or lovely smell. Instead, it is being called “sparse” and “marred”.

In Adrianna Puente’s poem, the first stanza describes exactly what a rose is normally symbolic of. The speaker is a personified poppy that wishes it could be as desired as the “ruby red” rose. It knows that it is not, “a symbol of romance / of new moments to be made, / of old memories to be cherished,” (Puente lines 6-8). These are all things roses are known to be symbolic of. Compared to H.D.’s poem, Puente’s speaker seems envious of the “beautiful rouge” rose that is always picked and loved for what it symbolizes.

By comparing H.D. and Adrianna Puente’s poems about roses, we see that one tries to challenge the romantic symbol of the rose, and the other challenges why that symbol can’t be given to another flower. Puente’s poem accepts and acknowledges the traditional symbolism, so she does a less effective job than H.D. to challenge the symbol.

By Tierney Bowden

Thorns within Tradition

Hilda Doolittle’s poem “Sea Rose” functions as a more effective challenge to the traditional symbolism of the rose when compared to Adrianna Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy”. The speaker quickly confronts the symbolic meaning within the rose, countering its traditional representation of love and beauty by identifying the harsher and “uglier” aspects of the rose “Rose, harsh rose,. Marred and with stint of petals.” (Doolittle, lines 1-2). The speaker chooses to note the flaws and damage the rose has gone through, causing its traditional beauty to be damaged, leaving the rose “Stunted, with small leaf” (Doolittle, line 9). Ultimately ending the poem with the question “Can the spice-rose. drop such acrid fragrance. hardened in a leaf?” (Doolittle, lines 14-16) asking the reader if beauty can still be found within something damaged and imperfect. The traditional symbolism of the rose is challenged with the idea that beauty still exists within imperfection. The image of a perfect healthy rose is not needed to showcase beauty, instead, the damaged rose serves as a stronger symbol of strength and perseverance. 

Puente’s “The Rose and the Poppy” chooses to speak on the symbolism of the poppy rather than confront the pre-existing symbolism of the rose. The speaker reaffirms the traditional symbolism of the rose but rejects it, choosing to identify with the symbolic nature of the poppy. “I am. Not a ravishing ruby red… I am. Wild in fields of green and blues” (Puente, lines 1-2 & 11-12) By connecting with the ideas of individuality presented by the poppy flower, Puente’s shows that one does not need to relate to the traditional ideas of the rose. Rather one can focus on their own character instead of conforming to pre-existing ideas. While Puente does provide great alternatives to the traditional symbols of the rose, she does not challenge the symbol, instead offering comparisons between the two symbols. It’s for this reason that Hilda Doolittle’s work serves as a more effective challenge to the traditional symbolism of the rose, as it actively confronts and modifies the rose’s meaning, rather than simply providing an alternative.

– Eduardo Ojeda Jr

Which poem is most effective in challenging the traditional symbol of the rose and why? Edmund F.

After analyzing the two poems, I came to the quick conclusion that both of them have a very similar, yet different Comparison between two different symbols. Both of these poems don’t just talk about a rose, but rather, they speak about the parallels of the Roses. “Sea Rose” compares two different roses in two different situations – and “The Rose and The Poppy”, compare the Rose and the Poppy.

Now, when we move to which one challenges the traditional symbol of the rose, I assume this is about going against the original idea of Roses being beautiful, delicate objects – usually an item for love, proposals, and so on. First, Doing a rough annotation on the first poem, “Sea Rose.” Sea Rose starts off with a four-line stanza, We’re given imagery, and heavy details about a Harsh rose with little to no leaves, marred, ugly, and stinted. We know it’s wilting, a far cry from a beautiful rose. We proceed onto the second Stanza, and suddenly we’re told this Rose, although harsh and ugly is more precious, and is caught up on a drift – perhaps water, or the wind? Third, we’re once again told that the Rose is ugly, it’s stunted, and it’s thrown across like trash on the sand. However, it’s lifted once more, and continues moving, surviving the last Stanza, we’re told that it’s a Spice-Rose, which I can only assume is the most basic beautiful rose one can find in gardens. However, she decides to take a turn and says that even the spice-roses scent isn’t as enticing as the previous rose, the ugly one, drifted, gone. The Analysis I got out of this specific poem, is that while Beautiful Roses exist, their simplicity is simply overshadowed by the acrid scent of the Rose that’s been through terrible times, by the Rose that is Harsh, stunted, meager, and sparse.

The next poem is “The Rose and the Poppy.” The first Stanza states a rose that is not a beautiful red, or a pure white. It’s not the conventional rose you give to someone you love (Once again, the traditional overview of a Rose), nor is it one that’s for someone in pain (Also another traditional symbolism for Roses, pain/loss). However, in the sixth line in the first Stanza, the poet quite literally states that this item, most likely a flower, is not a symbol of romance in the first place. This flower is not beautiful, but it’s simply something set aside, upon a bed of flowers, most likely. The second stanza gives us a clearer imagery of what this flower is, giving her a simile of a tangerine with an orchard of trees, before giving us imagery of this individual during a summer breeze. The third stanza tells us that while this Flower isn’t chosen for any purposes related to love, it’s its own flower. The last two Stanzas are an allusion to the fact that all flowers are the same, that they’ll all wilt, and their scent will release, before they all rot into umber.

Now, as for which Poem is the most effective in challenging the traditional symbol of a rose? I would have to say the first one. To me, it almost feels like the second poem is trying to allude to the fact that all roses are the same at the end of the day. It challenges the idea that the poppy in this case, or the flower amongst seas of tangerine orange is just another flower like the Rose, the first poem actively portrays two roses in different situations, one symbol with two parallels. We see the Rose that has been enduring hardships, and struggles, only to emerge victorious and more enticing than a plain rose. Instead of being just a basic symbol of love in a Garden, it’s a Rose that’s gone through the ocean and desert. To me, this feels like the poem is actively showing us the differences between the traditional “spice-rose” utilized for the poetic traditional love, and a rose that’s stunted, wilting, struggling, yet still more complex and interesting.

The undesired rose

The poem “Sea Rose” is the most effective poem in challenging what the traditional symbol of the rose is. The poem begins with

 “Rose, harsh rose,

marred and with stint of petals,

meagre flower, thin,

sparse of leaf,” 

Right off the bat this rose is very different from the traditional beautiful, lively, colorful flower.

This is not the ideal flower; this is the rose that you leave behind in the store. It is basically 

falling apart on the stem, it’s practically wilted. The rose is then described as

“Stunted, with small leaf,

you are flung on the sand,

you are lifted

in the crisp sand

that drives in the wind.”

This is not what you picture when you picture a rose. This rose seems like a tortured plant that’s 

 only use is its “acrid fragrance.” This is not a lively rose. It’s like a rose that has no problem 

just wilting away to nothing, has no hope. One that is to be smelled but not seen, for it is too 

distraught to look at. This is not what I think about when I think of traditional roses, there is no 

life in it.

-Paris Baker

No More Spotlight

When challenging a traditional symbol there is still some of the original meaning of it left. Yet, these two poets H.D. and Adrianna Puente try to challenge the original symbol of a rose with their poems. H.D.’s poem “Sea Rose” did a better job of challenging the idea of a rose. The idea is a rose is tarnished from going through so much that its spotlight is being taken away by a single leaf. H.D. uses diction and imagery to try and get this idea across.

“Sea Rose” did a better job with diction using “marred” which means disfigure or impair the appearance to describe a rose. showing the impurities this rose has and the distortion of its beauty. This showed the opposite of the beauty that a rose usually symbolizes. It was used to say that the rose is inadequate even to a leaf and is of no use. Where roses usually symbolize love, lust, or confessions, so by using this word it shows how bad it is to be a rose and the harsh ruin it goes through when it’s a synecdoche of a leaf. Whereas Puente used more lovely language such as “fragrance” and “wild” which both show the pretty scent of a flower and the similarity with a rose that symbolizes love. So, it kept the idea of love throughout the poem instead of following a different idea. Even though it drifted to a flower and not a rose it still showed the same signs of the symbol a rose usually holds. 

The vivid “You are flung across the sand” uses a great amount of imagery that tells the reader the rose is being abused in the wind and thrown in the sand which is known to cause scratches if you fall or get bruised by it. By using a word like flung we can see there is no love or passion but the pain the flower is going through from it being, so small and frail compared to a leaf. It is a basic call that says the rose is insignificant and holds no meaning even when floating through the sky. With this imagery, we are forced to visualize the rose being thrown in the sand like it means nothing. “The Rose and The Poppy” compares itself to a rose and has good uses of imagery like “we each wilt between dried petals”, it still holds the idea of how it is still important in some context even though it’ll die. It will still smell good and bring a sense of joy, but roses hold that original symbolized meaning which makes this poem not as effective in challenging the norm. 

“Sea Rose” uses the comparison between a leaf and a rose in her poem. Yet, she uses the rose to symbolize the leaf and the leaf to symbolize the rose which is called a synecdoche. By using this type of figurative language, we can see how usually the rose outshines a leaf and yet, we see it being played in a role where it brights more than the rose. The rose is being stunted around and doesn’t hold any sort of resemblance of love but is tarnished and hopeless to become a rose once again.

Kelly Flores

A Poppy by Any Other Name

Between H.D.’s “Sea Rose” and Adriana Puente’s “The Rose and The Poppy”, “Sea Rose” is more effective at challenging the traditional symbol of the rose. The speaker contradicts a typical perfect, delicate, feminine, and soft rose by describing this rose as “harsh” and “marred and with stint of petals” (lines 1-2). The rose is disfigured, lacking, and inadequate. Again, the rose is “meager”, “thin”, and “sparse” (lines 3-4). The rose is lacking in petals, leaves, and size. It does not measure up to the ideal beauty of a rose. Roses are typically in a bush, garden, bouquet, or vase. This rose is “caught in the drift” and “flung on the sand” (lines 8 and 10). Most roses given as gifts are cared for and thoughtfully selected. This rose is in a situation that is foreign to others: it is caught in a wild wind and tossed around without care. The speaker’s use of apostrophe links readers to the rose. A person who is lacking (in some respect) will not be treated like a traditional, cherished rose. That inadequate person will be flung around by a careless wind. However, there is a freedom in the unrestrained movement of the sand and wind (that a typical rose would not experience). This rose nears turbulent waters that other roses would never see. Similarly, this rose-person will be enlightened by experiences and struggles that other—more perfect—people would never face. Although it is not clear whether or not H.D. is the speaker, H.D.’s struggles with her parents likely impacted the rose’s journey in this poem. H.D.’s distant father and mother’s favoritism towards her brother paint of picture of disappointment.

In “The Rose and The Poppy”, the speaker does not challenge the traditional symbol of the rose for a majority of the poem. The first stanza draws on traditional symbolic meanings of a rose. The speaker does not identify with being a rose because they do not meet the traditional expectations that come with being “the flower you give to a lover, / or a token of comfort you give to a friend in the hospital” (lines 4-5). The speaker identifies all of a rose’s traditional connotations but compares themself to a poppy that is “wild in a field of greens and blues. / Electric orange-” (lines 12-13). The speaker abandons roses rather than challenging or altering a rose’s meaning. A rose’s traditional meaning does not align with the speaker’s identity, so they chose a different flower to represent themselves. Later, the speaker acknowledges that everyone mixes together in a “potpourri of our colors” (line 21). These flowers are dried and dull with petals falling apart. This contradicts the typical, lively and lush rose symbol. Roses are valued for their beauty, fullness, and fragrance, but these flowers have undergone a major transformation. In a potpourri, roses and poppies alike will “each wilt between dried petals – / scenting rooms with our fragrance / Rotting into umber” (lines 22-24). In the end, everything dies and leaves marks on its surroundings (like that fragrance). Rose and poppies are both susceptible to time and meet their ends in the same dark, rotted state. Although these flowers have different paths, they are indistinguishable from each other in their final moments.

~Miki Chroust