Within Dorothy Parkers One Perfect Rose she mocks the idyllic convention of a perfect relationship. She lures the reader in thinking the poem is going to be a sweet romantic poem, through her use of language. In doing so she’s able to set up an almost perfect ideal for a poem, before shattering the illusion, just like with how she symbolizes and personifies the rose as a relationship too perfect to ever be everlasting. By using the word “perfect,” line in 4, it brings to mind positive connotation something that is without fault. Coupling this with a rose, which symbolizes love, it means the perfect relationship. However, she strays away from the normal outlook on love, suggesting in perfection there is a monotonous quality that is brought which is undesirable. …show more content…
If everyone gives the same token for affection to convey their feelings then the over usage gives it less meaning or impact. The rose is described in line 3 as “deep-hearted” and with dew on that is “still wet.” Parker never explains why she gets only one rose, and we automatically assume like the poem that it is for romantic reasons. Deep-hearted representing his heart or it’s a literal blood red, which according to flower definitions it represents a heartfelt regret and sorrow, the “dew still wet,” possibly being the man’s tears. In doing so she shifts the meaning of the poem, changing something that is usually held as a symbol of love, as something more mournful. A rose to her is cliché and something transient, for roses withers away in a couple of days. Their leaves are “fragile” in line 6 barely holding on like the relationship, it can be broken quite quickly. It dangles precariously, it’s something fleeting which is what the author does not want. She emphasizes and stresses this point through the repetition of the line “one perfect rose,” at the close of each