The American poet Dorothy Parker published "One Perfect Rose" in her first book, Enough Rope (1926). The poem's speaker dryly mocks the clichéd romantic gesture of giving a lover a rose. After sarcastically waxing poetic about the beauty and emotional significance of a single "perfect rose," the speaker jokes that she'd much rather receive "one perfect limousine" as a gift. This poem pokes fun not just at old-fashioned gifts, but at old-fashioned (and rather sexist) ideas about romance in general.

• Read the full text of “One Perfect Rose”

• “One Perfect Rose” Summary

• “One Perfect Rose” Themes

  • 

    Romance and Cliché

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-12

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

  • Lines 1-4

    A single flow'r ...
    ... One perfect rose.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 5-6

    I knew the ...
    ... "his heart enclose."

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-8

    Love long has ...
    ... One perfect rose.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-12

    Why is it ...
    ... One perfect rose.

    

    

    

    

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• “One Perfect Rose” Symbols

  • 

    The Rose

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “single flow'r”
    • Line 3: “Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet”
    • Line 4: “One perfect rose”
    • Line 5: “floweret”
    • Line 6: “"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."”
    • Line 8: “One perfect rose”
    • Line 12: “One perfect rose”
  • 

    The Limousine

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 9-10: “Why is it no one ever sent me yet / One perfect limousine, do you suppose?”

• “One Perfect Rose” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Cliché

    

    

    

    

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    Where cliché appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-8
    • Line 12

  • Personification

    

    

    

    

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    Where personification appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “All tenderly his messenger he chose;”
    • Line 3: “Deep-hearted, pure,”
    • Line 6: “"My fragile leaves," it said, "his heart enclose."”
    • Lines 7-8: “Love long has taken for his amulet / One perfect rose.”

  • Refrain

    

    

    

    

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    Where refrain appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “One perfect rose.”
    • Line 8: “One perfect rose.”
    • Line 12: “One perfect rose.”

  • Parallelism

    

    

    

    

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    Where parallelism appears in the poem:

    • Line 4: “One perfect rose.”
    • Line 8: “One perfect rose.”
    • Line 10: “One perfect limousine,”
    • Line 12: “One perfect rose.”

  • Rhetorical Question

    

    

    

    

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    Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

    • Lines 9-10: “Why is it no one ever sent me yet / One perfect limousine, do you suppose?”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “single,” “flow'r,” “sent,” “me,” “since,” “met”
    • Line 2: “tenderly,” “his,” “messenger,” “chose”
    • Line 3: “Deep,” “hearted,” “pure,” “scented,” “dew,” “still”
    • Line 4: “perfect rose”
    • Line 5: “language,” “floweret”
    • Line 6: “fragile,” “leaves,” “his heart”
    • Line 7: “Love long,” “for,” “amulet”
    • Line 8: “perfect rose”
    • Line 9: “no one”
    • Line 10: “perfect,” “suppose”
    • Line 11: “luck”
    • Line 12: “perfect rose”

  • Sibilance

    

    

    

    

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    Where sibilance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “single,” “sent,” “since”
    • Line 2: “messenger”
    • Line 3: “scented,” “still”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “single,” “sent,” “since”
    • Line 3: “scented,” “still”
    • Line 5: “floweret”
    • Line 6: “fragile,” “his heart”
    • Line 7: “Love long”

  • End-Stopped Line

    

    

    

    

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    Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “met.”
    • Line 2: “chose;”
    • Line 3: “wet—”
    • Line 4: “rose.”
    • Line 5: “floweret;”
    • Line 6: “enclose."”
    • Line 8: “rose.”
    • Line 10: “suppose?”
    • Line 12: “rose.”

• “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
  • (Location in poem: Line 1: “flow'r”)

• 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.

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