“Rose” Image in Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Imagery is an important key to open a poem and explore the poet’s inner word. In Shakespeare’s sonnets, the rose is repeated image, which is placed in a dominant position among all the other flower imagery. In general, rose is one of the most conventional image in the sonnet. So, this article aims to explore why Shakespeare prefers “rose” to other flower imagery, and what are the symbolic meanings of “rose” images in Shakespeare’s sonnets. Imagery is the poem’s link to the senses, figure out “rose” images in sonnets can make us read sonnets with more understanding.