Nobody knows this little Rose —
It might a pilgrim be
Did I not take it from the ways
And lift it up to thee.
Only a Bee will miss it —
Only a Butterfly,
Hastening from far journey —
On its breast to lie —
Only a Bird will wonder —
Only a Breeze will sigh —
Ah Little Rose — how easy
For such as thee to die!

Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem Nobody knows this little Rose

75 Comments

  1. Refiloe says:

    This is very good poem it really helped me when I was going through difficult times .thank you Emily for your good work never change

  2. flakita says:

    this poem is amazing && if your going to critisize and talk s*** then dont post nothing b/c nobody wants to read your dumb s*** you have to say so waste your time posting up negative thoughts because NO ONE GIVE A F***.
    – THANKS.

  3. Kate Noll says:

    I really agree what all of you guys say it really makes sense. How do you guys come up with this stuff though thats what I dont get and when do you have the time!

  4. shams says:

    This poem has many meanings. Literally, it means that if you take a rose away from its home, it will not be missed by anyone but a butterfly or bee. The implicit meaning, however, is more complicated. The rose symbolizes a perfect human being- everyone adores it’s beauty. When its gone, though, nobody misses it. The poet uses alliteration to help the poem flow. For example- “only a bee… only a butterfly… only a bird… only a breeze.” She also uses the half rhyme (or slant rhyme) sequence (be rhymes with thee, butterfly rhymes with lie, and sigh rhymes with die). The poet also capitalizes important words and uses personification (“Bird will wonder”, “breeze will sigh”, etc)

  5. Donna says:

    Emily Dickinson routinely used “pilgrim” and “pilgrimage” type terms, not in the vernacular (slang) we are used to today, but if you read it as she wrote it, a pilgrim is traditionally one who embarks on a religious journey, which makes the remainder of that phrase make sense: “it might a PILGRIM be…did I not take it from the ways…AND HOLD IT UP TO THEE…” She was symbolically representing that by bringing the rose from its place up to “thee” (whoever she meant then, or perhaps God, it isn’t clear, but she did have a difficult and impossible to make reality situation with a man due to circumstance) as its journey from the earth to the nose of “thee” (again being whomever she chose to leave out of the poem save that phrase, which also leaves open interpretation as to who “thee” was, but the prior comment, with all due respect, does not fit in with the remainder of that poem, although it shows how our use of language is much different now than in the past, and also is a wonderful sign that she is still making us think after all this time. I hope someone replies with thoughts – she’s my favorite poet in her use of imagery and care with brevity of words to explain infinite concepts with infinite meanings that are still relevant to us today.

  6. Roxy says:

    She says “it might a pilgrim be” meaning its a foreigner or someone who is different from the others around it. And the Bee,Butterfly,Breeze and Bird are capatilized to represent people in her life. the Rose representing her.

  7. ace says:

    the poem want us to enjoy every moment of our life and we should live it to the fullest,we may encounter many obstacles down the road,but for me thats what spice up our life

  8. Hans says:

    I believe it is not about yourself our anyone else.

    My opinion is that it is about the death of loved ones… Dying of humans, friends, gives sadness and makes us mourn. For such a thing as a rose it is easy to die, as nobody will miss it. The problem is not in the dying of a friend but in the absence it creates.

  9. Jacob P. says:

    Though not my most favorite of Dickinson’s poems, it has quite an impactful thought so many of us are concerned with. She eloquently places the thought of being nothing on one of Western Society’s biggest emblem of importance.

    Also, Karl from Azerbaijan, you missed the meaning entirely. This poem is about how important everyone thinks they are, but the truth is virtually no one will notice you are gone. Sure some family members will mourn you, but you, like countless others, will end up as just another tombstone no one comes to visit, slowly wearing out your name until it is entirely illegible.

  10. jennifer says:

    this poem really speaks out to a lot of people. its so amazing how so many people can relate to it. if you dont like this poem then dont type a comment criticism b/c no one f****** cares!

  11. Danielle says:

    This is sooo deeep. And sooo good. I Love it sooo mcuh. Love you to. Good poem

  12. halli says:

    I thought this poem was very deep. It shows how little we as individuals are noticed, though, to a very few, we are the whole world. It shows how we are all forgotten at some point, and we have to hold on to what we have. I enjoyed it very much, and I think it was one of her best poems.

  13. Inga says:

    Having busy lives we do not notice that we are individuals, that we are unique… Sometimes life scene makes us actors and allows us to forget ourselves… We all are piligrims in one way or another, piligrims who sometimes have to stand alone in the way of life, who sometimes need to grow sharp prickles, and not be remembered. Uniqueness of the person is not always noticed and valued: others, like the butterfly and the bee, would use him or her, while others, as free as the piligrim ( the wind and the bird)would love “the rose” and miss it pushing up the daisies… Only a free soul can understand another free soul…
    Here I see a simile: a person is as beautiful as a rose, as strong as rose`s prickles, as lonely as a piligrim and as free as a wind or a bird; therefore she/he is unique.

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