# A Flower Given to My Daughter explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James Joyce.

## What happens

The speaker reflects on the delicate beauty of a white rose and his daughter, drawing a parallel between their fragility and the ephemeral nature of time. The poem captures a tender moment of paternal observation, set in Trieste, 1913.

## Themes in this chapter

### Transience and Loss

The poem emphasizes the frailty of the rose and the daughter, linking them to the passing of time ('time’s wan wave').

### Love and Longing

The speaker's tender address to his daughter reveals a deep paternal love and a sense of protective longing.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker who observes and compares the rose to his daughter.

### Daughter

The blueveined child, described as frail and fair, the recipient of the flower.

## Key lines

> Frail the white rose and frail are / Her hands that gave

The white rose is delicate, and so are the hands of the one who gave it.

_Establishes the central metaphor of fragility shared between the flower and the daughter._

> Whose soul is sere and paler / Than time’s wan wave.

Her soul is withered and more colorless than the pale wave of time.

_Suggests a spiritual or emotional pallor, perhaps from the wear of time or experience._

> Rosefrail and fair—yet frailest / A wonder wild / In gentle eyes thou veilest, / My blueveined child.

As fragile and beautiful as a rose, yet even more delicate is the wild wonder you hide in your gentle eyes, my blue-veined child.

_Highlights the child's inner mystery and vulnerability, veiled behind her gentle gaze._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters/a-flower-given-to-my-daughter
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters