12 Must-Read Poems about Roses

Poems about roses exude the timeless beauty and symbolism of this iconic flower. They pay homage to the rose’s delicate petals, enchanting fragrances, and vibrant colors.

Often used as a metaphor for love and passion, these verses explore themes of romance, longing, and the fleeting nature of beauty. Poets may also delve into the thorns that protect the rose, drawing parallels to the complexities of life and love.

Through imagery, poems about roses celebrate the interplay of fragility and strength, inspiring readers to cherish life’s fleeting moments and the profound emotions they evoke.

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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“Why did you come” (#1 from Hermetic Definition: ‘Red Rose and a Beggar’)

by Hilda Doolittle

‘Why did you come’ by Hilda Doolittle is about love, self-criticism, aging, and the human inability to control judgments and desires.

We've all heard "roses are red" poems, but this rose poem, which uses the rose as a metaphor for the speaker's uncontrollable attraction and desire, offers a unique take. It poses society against nature, drawing parallels between the natural, organic feelings of love and attraction and the judgment of others.

Why did you come

to trouble my decline?

I am old (I was old till you came);

the reddest rose unfolds,

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The Rose

by Richard Lovelace

‘The Rose’ by Richard Lovelace explores beauty, love, and their brief nature through the symbolism of a rose.

The poem is about roses and speaks of them by beautifying them and also honoring their functions. The poem depicts roses as beautiful creatures symbolic of love and passion thus creating a feeling of compassion in the reader as they watch the beauty of the roses unite. This paper seeks to analyze how the delivery method of a poem, in this case the use of poetry, presents the main subject, the rose in a romantic and highly valued manner.

Sweet serene sky-like flower,

Haste to adorn her bower;

From thy long cloudy bed

Shoot forth thy damask head!

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Getting Back Together

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A Red, Red Rose

by Robert Burns

In ‘A Red, Red Rose,’ Robert Burns lyrically celebrates enduring love, promising everlasting commitment amidst a temporary farewell.

The red rose, a classic emblem of romantic affection, takes center stage in this poem as a powerful symbol of the love shared between the speaker and the beloved. It represents the freshness, tenderness, and beauty inherent in their relationship. Unlike a rose that decays, the speaker emphasizes the permanence of their emotions, ensuring that their love remains consistently vibrant and devoid of monotony, bearing a vitality that is like newly blooming roses.

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;

O my Luve is like the melody

That’s sweetly played in tune.

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Valentine

by Carol Ann Duffy

Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Valentine’ challenges conventional romance with an unexpected gift: an onion conveying honesty and genuine emotion.

Roses convey the significance of sincerity and genuine emotional connection over prettiness and convention. Traditionally associated with romance, roses today have become a clichéd and superficial Valentine's Day gift symbolizing the commercialization of love, stripped of genuine emotion. By dismissing the rose in favor of an onion, the poem emphasizes how roses have become mere superficial tokens of love lacking genuine emotion. Unlike onions, they fail to capture love's authentic, multifaceted nature.

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.

It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.

It promises light

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Sonnet 1

by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 1, ‘From fairest creatures we desire increase,’ appeals to the Fair Youth to procreate and preserve his beauty.

Roses are often used in poetry as a metaphor for feminine beauty and grace. In 'Sonnet 1,' Shakespeare offers a refreshing perspective as he uses the rose as a metaphor for the beauty of the male character called Fair Youth. Interestingly, he changes the conventional dynamics by associating the symbol of the rose with masculinity, often used to portray softness and femininity in contemporaneous poetry.

From fairest creatures we desire increase,

That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,

But as the riper should by time decease,

His tender heir might bear his memory;

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Burnt Norton

by T.S. Eliot

‘Burnt Norton’ explores the philosophical concepts of time, spirituality, and transcendence, focusing on the human quest for higher meaning.

The roses in 'Burnt Norton' alludes to the manor house's garden, Burnt Norton, as it was set on fire in 1741 by its owner, who burnt to death inside the house. The rose garden carries more significant symbolic significance than the manor house in the poem, which Eliot visited in 1934 with his love interest, Emily Hale. The garden represents a realm of hidden beauty where higher truths can be discovered. The imagery of roses symbolizes heightened perception and invites readers on the quest for spiritual transcendence.

Time present and time past

Are both perhaps present in time future,

And time future contained in time past.

If all time is eternally present

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The Grave and The Rose

by Victor Hugo

‘The Grave and The Rose’ by Victor Hugo is an intriguing poem that inquires and attempts to answer essential questions about death and change.

The rose is a common and still powerful symbol of love and passion. In using the rose as a character within the poem, Hugo offers up the perfect foil for the grave, which represents death. But these two figures are not as opposing as people perceive them. As the poem presents them as engaging in a friendly dialogue about the fate of things after they've passed on.

The Grave said to the Rose,

"What of the dews of dawn,

Love's flower, what end is theirs?"

"And what of spirits flown,

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More Strong Than Time

by Victor Hugo

‘More Strong Than Time’ by Victor Hugo is a powerfully romantic poem that declares love as withstanding the withering effects of time.

One of the reoccurring symbols used in the poem is the rose or rose petal. Hugo uses it as a symbol not just of the pair's love but also as a means of describing the way love arrived in their lives. It is a familiar and nearly archetypal symbol that the poet uses to embody the beautiful vitality of their bond.

Since I have set my lips to your full cup, my sweet,

Since I my pallid face between your hands have laid,

Since I have known your soul, and all the bloom of it,

And all the perfume rare, now buried in the shade;

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Loving Someone You Can't Have

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To—

by John Keats

‘To—’ explores how an idealized view of love can delude one into believing they are both inadequate and destined to find romance.

One of the major symbols of the poem is "Hybla’s honied roses," an image that alludes to a city in Italy famous for its sweet-smelling flowers. This only enhances the rose's status as an archetype for romantic love, illustrating the intoxicating effect such sentiments can have on the mind, clouding its rationality in favor of bittersweet emotion. Irresistibly alluring, the flower mirrors the speaker's inability to attain the very beauty they aspire to embody and the love they desire to taste.

Had I a man’s fair form, then might my sighs

Be echoed swiftly through that ivory shell

Thine ear, and find thy gentle heart; so well

Would passion arm me for the enterprise;

#10

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The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

by William Blake

William Blake’s ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ explores the transformative power of embracing contradiction and defying societal norms.

In the poem, roses symbolize beauty and growth emerging from thorny and challenging circumstances. The imagery of roses planted where thorns grow represents the transformative power of embracing contradictions. The poem invites readers to appreciate the resilience and vitality of life, finding beauty even in adverse conditions, akin to roses blooming amidst harsh surroundings.

Rintrah roars and shakes his fires in the burdened air;

Hungry clouds swag on the deep.

Once meek, and in a perilous path,

The just man kept his course along