“One Perfect Rose” Summary

“One Perfect Rose” Themes

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  Romance and Cliché

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “One Perfect Rose”

• Lines 1-4

  A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.
  All tenderly his messenger he chose;
  Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet—
  One perfect rose.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-6

  I knew the language of the floweret;
  "My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-8

  Love long has taken for his amulet
  One perfect rose.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Why is it no one ever sent me yet
  One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
  Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
  One perfect rose.

  

  

  

  

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“One Perfect Rose” Symbols

• 

  The Rose

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• 

  The Limousine

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“One Perfect Rose” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Cliché

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Refrain

  

  

  

  

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• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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“One Perfect Rose” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Flow'r
• Tenderly
• Deep-Hearted
• Dew
• Floweret
• Enclose
• Amulet

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “One Perfect Rose”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“One Perfect Rose” Speaker

“One Perfect Rose” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “One Perfect Rose”

More “One Perfect Rose” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Reading of the Poem — Listen to Dorothy Parker herself reading "One Perfect Rose."

  • A Video Biography — Watch a short documentary about Parker's life and work.

  • The Paris Review Interview — Read the Paris Review's "Art of Poetry" interview with Dorothy Parker, which showcases her classic wit and sheds light on her approach to poetry.

  • The Dorothy Parker Society — Learn more about Parker's enduring influence at the website of the Dorothy Parker Society.

  • The Algonquin Round Table — Read about the Algonquin Round Table, the influential artistic circle with which Parker worked and schmoozed.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Dorothy Parker

  • Resumé