Poetry · Chapter
The Tomb and the Rose explained
A poetic dialogue between the Tomb and the Rose, where the Rose transforms dawn's tears into a perfume for the gods, and the Tomb turns devoured mortals into angels for Paradise.
What happens
A poetic dialogue between the Tomb and the Rose, where the Rose transforms dawn's tears into a perfume for the gods, and the Tomb turns devoured mortals into angels for Paradise.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
The Rose is addressed as 'O Flower of Love,' and its tears evoke the sorrow of love and loss.
Nature and Mortality
The Rose (nature) and the Tomb (mortality) converse about transformation and the afterlife.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator presents the dialogue between the Tomb and the Rose.
Key passages
“The Tomb said to the Rose: O Flower of Love, where goes Each tear which Dawn upon thy cheeks doth shed?”
The Tomb asks the Rose where the tears of dawn go.
Opens the dialogue with a question about the fate of morning dew.
“The Rose said to the Tomb: What makest in thy gloom Impenetrable of the countless dead?”
The Rose asks the Tomb what it creates from the countless dead in its darkness.
The Rose reciprocates with a question about the Tomb's purpose.
“Said the Rose: O Tomb, of all these tears, In my recesses ere the sun appears, I make a perfume which the gods will prize.”
The Rose explains it turns the tears into a perfume valued by the gods.
The Rose transforms sorrow into something divine.
“Said the Tomb: O plaintive Flower, Of every mortal I devour An angel do I make for Paradise.”
The Tomb says it turns each mortal it consumes into an angel for Paradise.
The Tomb transforms death into eternal life.