Meaning of the Poem I grow a white rose by José Martí
What does the poem I Cultivate a White Rose by José Martí mean:
The poem "I cultivate a white rose" is one of the most famous poems of the Cuban writer and politician José Martí. It is a poem about the value of friendship and the importance of cultivating a sincere, pure love with others.
The poem appears in the book Simple verses in number XXXIX, which the poet published in 1891, while he was living in New York City.
The work of Martí is considered, along with that of authors such as Rubén Darío or Amado Nervo, as part of modernism Hispano-American, who gave his own voice in the concert of universal letters to the literary expression of raigambre Hispanic American.
Poem "I grow a white rose"
Analysis of the poem
The poem "I grow a white rose" is in the book Simple verses, published in 1891. As such, it is poem number XXXIX in the book. As the name implies, this is a poem of lines of great simplicity that looks, however, complex feelings.
It is a poem that deals with the value of friendship. In it, the poetic voice, in an enunciative attitude, refers to friendship (lyrical motif) as a white rose (lyrical object) that it cultivates for those who are loyal, frank and sincere. However, when referring to the one who "rips out his heart", that is to say, the disloyal, the perfidious, he affirms that he also cultivates a white rose.
The poem, in this sense, also reflects on the importance of not holding or cultivating grudges (thistles and nettles) for those who harm us or betray us, for those who think differently or do not agree with our ideas.
Hence, the poem can be considered an exaltation of friendship, of the fraternal feeling that lies in relationships based on in openness and honesty, as well as the importance of building relationships with others based on these values. Even before those who arouse us the greatest apprehensions.
Verse type, rhyme and meter
This poem is composed of two stanzas of four verses each. It is written in a round, with minor art verses of eight syllables each, also known as octosyllables. Its rhyme is consonant, being that the first and fourth verses of each stanza rhyme, as well as the second and third verses or, which is the same, following the scheme: a, b, b, a; c, d, d, c. All this gives great sonority to the poem.
Next, we present a table that shows the metric of the poem, with its division into syllables. Synalephs, which are the fusion of the final vowel of one word with the initial vowel of the next, are highlighted in bold.
| Verses separated into syllables | # |
|---|---|
| What / you /vo u/ na / ro / sa / blan / ca in / ju / nio / co /mo in/ January pa /ra the/ a / mi / go / sin / ce / ro that / me / gives / his / ma / no / fran / ca. |
8a 8b 8b 8a |
| And / for the / cruel / that / me to/rran/ca el / co / ra / zón / con / que / vi / vo, thistle/ nor hear/ ti / ga / cul / ti / vo; cul / ti / vo / la / ro / sa / blan / ca. |
8c 8d 8d 8c |
Rhetorical figures
Allegory
The poem is an allegory of friendship and the value of offering affection to the other, both to those who are nice to us and those who are not. It is expressed through various metaphors, which establish intrinsic relationships between ideas or concepts in literary language.
Metaphors
The metaphors of this allegory would be that of the white rose as a metaphor for friendship, love and frankness. In it, white, the color of purity, can be interpreted as a symbol of kindness and honesty, while the rose, the plant, can be considered a symbol of love.
In turn, in this allegory the idea of cultivation is present, which refers to what is sown, cared for and obtained through constant work. The cultivation of the white rose, therefore, refers to the idea of friendship as a rose that must be cared for in order for it to flourish.
Another metaphor that accompanies this allegory is that of thistles and nettles, ordinary, wild plants, the last of poisonous, which the poetic voice refuses to offer to those who rip out its heart, that is, to the disloyal, to the treacherous. These plants would therefore be a metaphor for resentment, as is the white rose of pure and frank friendship.
Hyperbole
The exaggeration of a situation or circumstance is incurred: "And for the cruel one who rips me / the heart with which I live." Ripping out the heart, in this sense, should not be taken literally; It is a way of referring to the one who betrays, the one who acts in a bad way.
Hyperbaton
Alteration in the order of the elements in the sentence: "And for the cruel one who rips out / the heart with which I live, / thistle or nettle I grow; / I grow the white rose."
It may interest you 30 modernist poems commented.
About José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez, better known as José Martí, was a Cuban writer and politician born in Havana in 1853, and died in combat in Dos Ríos, in 1895.
His political work was key in the Cuban independence process; he was a promoter of the war of independence and founder of the Cuban Revolutionary Party.
He is also the author of an outstanding literary work, registered, along with that of figures such as Rubén Darío or Amado Nervo, within the Latin American modernist movement.
Among his works stand out Ismaelillo (1882), Simple verses (1891), Free verses (1913, posthumous) and Banishment flowers (1933, posthumous), while in his essays he highlights Our America (1891).
