A_White_Rose

A White Rose A rose is a flower that is delicate, classic and vibrant both in color and scent. This flowers history dates back to fossil evidence that was found 35 million years ago in North America, Asia and Europe. “In nature, the genus Rosa has some 150 species spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Alaska to Mexico including northern Africa.” (University Of Illinois, 2013) During the Roman Empire the Romans used roses for medicinal purposes as they are rich in antioxidants such as Vitamin C to treat the common cold and different infections by boiling leaves and petals in water to make a tea. Roses were also used during this time period to treat the wounds from wild dog bites, thrown as confetti in celebrations and for decorations throughout the home and gravesites. Yet the history of the rose used for medicinal purposes does not stop with the Romans. In today's society roses have been studied for medicinal purposes, as rose powder has been shown to prevent and reverse high-fat diet-induced obesity, glucose intolerance as well as reduce body fat and levels of cholesterol. The results from this study were conducted by the Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University Hospital, after 31 obese individuals with normal or impaired glucose tolerance were instructed to drink rose powder over the course of six weeks. After the six weeks it was concluded that test subjects had a significant drop in blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight. (Andersson et al., 2012) More importantly the rose is symbolic to literature as it represents beauty, love and relationships. In this paper I will discuss the three elements in John O'Reilly’s poem that I found intriguing such as his use of symbolism, connotation, and repetition to indicate the difference between lust and love, and explain how the three literary elements used affected my response to a white rose, in its entirety. According to Clugston, (2010) symbolism is described as “something that has a literal identity but also stands for something else” Symbolism is significant to poetry because it uses images to portray emotions which give the writing a deeper meaning allowing the reader to make a comparison in just a few words. O’Reilly accomplishes this by using different colored roses to represent the difference between lust and love in relationships. What makes symbolism in this poem so unique is O’Reilly takes the time out to explain the symbolism where symbols in poetry are usually understood rather than explained. A white rose begins with the line “The red rose whispers of passion” to indicate a deep passionate lust for someone. He then goes on to compare this type of love to a bird specifically the falcon. “Oh, the red rose is a falcon” indicating just how strong the desire of lust is since a falcon is seen as a powerful animal. While he uses the white rose “the white rose breathes of love” to represent a pure form of love comparing it to a dove which symbolizes peace and purity. O’Reilly then describes love from a deeper stand point. “But I send you a cream-white rosebud, with a flush on its petal tips.” In this line O'Reilly is trying to get the reader to understand there is difference between lust and love saying if you are truly in love with someone then the lust or desire for them will always be present and confirms this in the last two lines of his poem “For the love that is purest and sweetest has a kiss of desire on its lips” to indicate a pure form of love. Connotation, of a word is the emotional implications associated with it that are widely or locally known. (Clugston, 2010) to understand this technique the reader must look carefully at the author’s words as connotation in poetry it helps set the mood or tone in the writing. This is shown as O’Reilly uses the word “Whisper” to make the reader think of quiet, but often secret and deceptive words. "Breathe" implies quiet and peaceful words to but also those that give and sustain to life. (Mansfield, 1996) Other words contrasted in this poem include passion and love. Passion represents a strong emotion that can be possessive, emotionally draining or even selfish. While love, represents a selfless emotion that reflects serenity and purity. The metaphors between the red rose and falcon, the white rose and dove, compare and contrast with the words passion and love throughout the poem. Throughout the poem O’Reilly uses repetition to get his message across in ‘A white Rose’ as he uses the repetition technique conduplicatio, “the repetition of a different word or words in succeeding clauses to add emphasis” (Mansfield, 1996) by indicating the 'red rose' 'the white rose' yet explaining the color difference between the two roses. A more specific form of this repetition is called Anaphora a “repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive clauses as anaphora reinforces the comparison and contrast.” (Mansfield, 1996) O'Reilly achieves this by putting emphasis on the roses themselves before explaining the differences by repeating the words at the beginning of the lines then the ideas in the ending. When reading this poem for the first time the writing elements used, brought out a lot of emotions as it brought me back to a time when I didn’t know the difference between lust and love. As I believed that lust was the only way you could show love in a relationship. However O’Reilly debunked this myth by showing me that lust is insignificant in a relationship when it comes to love by his receptiveness of explaining the difference between the two with his use of symbolism. This caused me to focus more clearly on what love and lust meant to me and I realize now that lust doesn’t solely mean love. Love takes on a much deeper meaning as it is pure and unconditional, where lust is just a strong emotion or sexual attraction to someone that can pass over time, but love lasts forever. In conclusion, O’Reilly’s poem will remain a timeless classic on the subject of love. As the rose flower will remain delicate, classic, vibrant in color and scent and be symbolic to literature as it represents beauty, love and relationships. Reference Andersson, U., Berger, K., Högberg, A., Landin-Olsson, M., & Holm, C. (2012). Effects of rose hip intake on risk markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a randomized, double-blind, cross-over investigation in obese persons. European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 66(5), 585-590. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.203. Retrieved from http:// http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer'sid=7facf797-cb30-4832-bb84-762865b078ba%40sessionmgr104&vid=4&hid=119 Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Mansfield, A. (1996). Finding the main idea in poems: structure and diction. Retrieved from http://ctl.byu.edu/sites/default/files/critical_reading_mini-lessons/20-Finding_the_Main_Idea_in_Poems_Structure_and_Diction.pdf University Of Illinois. (2013). The history of roses. Retrieved from http://urbanext.illinois.edu/roses/history.cfm