Flowers and Femininity

The central motif of the poem is flowers. Roses, in particular, appear as a straightforward symbol of beauty. However, flowers also have a more expansive meaning within the poem. Flowers are used to explore the positive aspects of femininity in a poem that is largely concerned with critiquing unacceptable female behavior.

In early modern England – as, indeed, in modern literature – flowers were traditionally associated with women. Roses often symbolized female beauty. Shakespeare wrote of “roses in her cheeks,” and both scholarly poetry and popular ballads wrote of the “English Rose” as the ideal of feminine beauty: a pale woman with rosy cheeks, red-gold hair, and a warm disposition. Rosamund’s name, and the constant use of roses in the background of the poem, associates her with this model. Furthermore, flowers were frequently used as a metaphor for female genitalia, but also as a symbol...