Song (Go, Lovely Rose)
Edmund Waller
Comparing a woman to a rose seems very much like love does it not? In Song (Go, Lovely Rose) by Edmund Waller, the narrator of the poem is talking to a flower; in this case a rose. The narrator tells this rose to go and tell the woman he is trying to woo how much the rose is like her so that he may be able to possess her. As romantic as that sounds, since we all tend to believe roses are very beautiful, he sends a message to this young woman via the rose that is quite alarming and not very romantic at all, but almost threatening. Waller makes the narrator out to be chastising this beautiful woman rather than making the narrator confess his love for her. Because Waller is not using the narrator to proclaim his love for this woman but to chastise her, the poem is more focused on lust and instant gratification disguised as love in form of a compliment towards her beauty.
You can see the narrator's first form of chastisement in line 2 of the poem: "Tell her that wastes her time and me,". In this line, the narrator is telling the rose that because this young and fair woman is not responding to his advances that she is letting her beauty pass her by and that she is not seizing the day while also wasting away his youth as he waits on her (Kaminski, 2000). From that line alone, the narrator comes off a bit selfish and persistent because he is not getting what he wants. His pushy nature is not love, but lust. Waller uses the concept of carpe diem to help the narrator to manipulate the young woman he wants to call his own.
The narrator then goes on to say that it is almost a crime to hide her beauty from everyone, especially him, because her beauty is meant to be appreciated. Proof of the narrator proclaiming her idiocy to the rose is in lines 11-12: "Small is the worth / Of beauty from the light retired;". Waller uses the narrator to explain that beauty has no value unless it is seen or used. The narrator is telling this rose to report to this young woman that her beauty is worthless if he does not get to appreciate it while she still has it. How manipulative can it get that the narrator has to strongly persuade this woman to do what he wants? Kaminski on the matter of the narrator scolding the young and beautiful woman says,"Waller tinges his description of the lady with a mild irony in the lover's plea that she "suffer herself to be desired" (line 14); this reluctant girl must be coaxed to permit what others of her sex so clearly seek" (2000). Waller has made this woman out to be quite stubborn about how she shows her beauty and if she chooses to show it. It is clear she is not like other women because advertising her beauty does not seem to be something she enjoys doing. Since she does not enjoy flaunting her looks, the narrator is frustrated to the point of practically insulting her beauty by telling her it is worthless because she will not possess such beauty forever.
Waller then goes on to say after the narrator instructs the rose to tell the beautiful woman that without showing her beauty it will be worthless, he has the narrator command the rose to die in front of her so that she will realize the metaphor between her and the rose itself. In lines 16-20 it says: "Then die, that she / The common fate of all things rare / May read in thee, / How small a part of time they share / Who are so wondrous sweet and fair." Essentially, the narrator tells the rose to die so that the young and beautiful woman will know that not only will her beauty diminish but that she will also experience death eventually. Even Kaminski says,"Waller's lover makes no vulgar suggestion, not even a double entendre. Let the rose die, that is enough; everything else is inferred from the tradition" (2000). In part, Waller has made a persuasive argument for why this woman should let him possess her without needing to say anything.
As discussed, it is obvious that this poem has no real expression of love. The poem is beautifully written and when read sounds very much like a love poem. But, when looking at the content of the poem, it is clear that the narrator is not trying to woo this girl because he loves her, but only because she is beautiful. The narrator wants to make sure she does not let her beauty waste away without being seen by someone, but more importantly himself.
You can see the narrator's first form of chastisement in line 2 of the poem: "Tell her that wastes her time and me,". In this line, the narrator is telling the rose that because this young and fair woman is not responding to his advances that she is letting her beauty pass her by and that she is not seizing the day while also wasting away his youth as he waits on her (Kaminski, 2000). From that line alone, the narrator comes off a bit selfish and persistent because he is not getting what he wants. His pushy nature is not love, but lust. Waller uses the concept of carpe diem to help the narrator to manipulate the young woman he wants to call his own.
The narrator then goes on to say that it is almost a crime to hide her beauty from everyone, especially him, because her beauty is meant to be appreciated. Proof of the narrator proclaiming her idiocy to the rose is in lines 11-12: "Small is the worth / Of beauty from the light retired;". Waller uses the narrator to explain that beauty has no value unless it is seen or used. The narrator is telling this rose to report to this young woman that her beauty is worthless if he does not get to appreciate it while she still has it. How manipulative can it get that the narrator has to strongly persuade this woman to do what he wants? Kaminski on the matter of the narrator scolding the young and beautiful woman says,"Waller tinges his description of the lady with a mild irony in the lover's plea that she "suffer herself to be desired" (line 14); this reluctant girl must be coaxed to permit what others of her sex so clearly seek" (2000). Waller has made this woman out to be quite stubborn about how she shows her beauty and if she chooses to show it. It is clear she is not like other women because advertising her beauty does not seem to be something she enjoys doing. Since she does not enjoy flaunting her looks, the narrator is frustrated to the point of practically insulting her beauty by telling her it is worthless because she will not possess such beauty forever.
Waller then goes on to say after the narrator instructs the rose to tell the beautiful woman that without showing her beauty it will be worthless, he has the narrator command the rose to die in front of her so that she will realize the metaphor between her and the rose itself. In lines 16-20 it says: "Then die, that she / The common fate of all things rare / May read in thee, / How small a part of time they share / Who are so wondrous sweet and fair." Essentially, the narrator tells the rose to die so that the young and beautiful woman will know that not only will her beauty diminish but that she will also experience death eventually. Even Kaminski says,"Waller's lover makes no vulgar suggestion, not even a double entendre. Let the rose die, that is enough; everything else is inferred from the tradition" (2000). In part, Waller has made a persuasive argument for why this woman should let him possess her without needing to say anything.
As discussed, it is obvious that this poem has no real expression of love. The poem is beautifully written and when read sounds very much like a love poem. But, when looking at the content of the poem, it is clear that the narrator is not trying to woo this girl because he loves her, but only because she is beautiful. The narrator wants to make sure she does not let her beauty waste away without being seen by someone, but more importantly himself.
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