My Pretty Rose Tree by William Blake

My Pretty Rose Tree

A flower was offered to me,
Such a flower as May never bore;
But I said, ‘I’ve a pretty rose tree,’
And I passed the sweet flower o’er.

Then I went to my pretty rose tree,
To tend her by day and by night;
But my rose turned away with jealousy,
And her thorns were my only delight.

– William Blake

 The unnamed flower blooms in May, the month that represents Spring and, therefore, new life and fertility. It can also be seen as an image of virginity (as in the archaic phrase that a girl is ‘deflowered' by her first sexual encounter). The namelessness of the flower may also suggest its lack of self-consciousness and, therefore, its capacity for self-forgetful love, in contrast to the rose-tree. To be named is to have an identity, with the possibility of turning this into a possession which one is unwilling to share or give.

The rose is a literary symbol of love, especially sexual love. It is also linked with mortality, a sign of the transience of human love and beauty. It therefore links sex and death. This is appropriate since it seems to represent jealous,

possessive love which cannot be life-giving, standing in contrast to the flower.

The effects of the fall

Human relationships are affected by fallen divided selfhood which sees itself at the centre of its world as something to be protected and defended. Its pleasures must be jealously defended and denied to others. One chief pleasure is exerting control over others, which can often masquerade as showing protective love. Jealousy and possessiveness characterize this distortion of love.