O Rose thou art sick
the invisible worm.
that flies in the night
in the howling storm:
has found out they bed
of crimson joy:
and his dark secret love
does thy life destroy.
Is it correct to identify "in the howling strom:" and "of crimson joy:" a caesura that commands the reader to pause, and enjambment would be the line "and his dark secret love" that runs into the next line "does thy life destroy." which becomes a line that is considered end-stopped?
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/caesura.html
from http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/index.html
and
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/enjambment.html
I think you're right about enjambment, but I'm not convinced about the caesuras you have identified. Please read over the definitions again and rethink this.
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enjambment
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesura
To analyze the structure of a poem and identify elements such as caesura, enjambment, and line breaks, we need to closely examine the text.
In the given stanza from William Blake's poem "The Sick Rose," let's break down the structure:
O Rose thou art sick
the invisible worm.
that flies in the night
in the howling storm:
has found out thy bed
of crimson joy:
and his dark secret love
does thy life destroy.
A caesura refers to a pause or break within a line of poetry. In this stanza, we can identify a caesura after the phrase "in the howling storm." The punctuation mark used (a colon) indicates a pause, creating a slight break or pause for the reader.
Enjambment, on the other hand, is the continuation of a sentence or thought beyond the end of a line of poetry, without any pause or punctuation. In this stanza, we see enjambment in the line "and his dark secret love does thy life destroy." The sentence flows without interruption from one line to the next.
Concerning the line "of crimson joy," it doesn't necessarily create a caesura, but it does contribute to the overall pause-like effect when coupled with the preceding line ending in a colon. This combination allows for a slight pause in the reading.
To summarize:
- "In the howling storm:" includes a caesura, indicated by the colon.
- "Of crimson joy:" does not create a caesura, but contributes to the pause-like effect due to the preceding colon.
- "And his dark secret love does thy life destroy." is an example of enjambment, as the sentence flows without pause into the next line.
Note: Poetry analysis can be subjective, and different readers may interpret elements differently. It's important to consider the context, the poet's intention, and the effect on the overall reading experience.