Love in One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker and Cinderella’s Diary by Ron Koertge

A rose is the ultimate yet simplest sign of love. Billions are sold on Valentine’s Day and countless numbers are sold to epitomize a lover’s feelings throughout the year. The delicate petals, harsh and unforgiving thorns, vivid and deep colors, all of the things associated with a rose go towards it being the best way to sum up a person’s love for another. The rose has often been associated with a sign of romance. The thought of romance is not as appreciated in today’s time period in comparison to, say, fifty years ago. With this in mind, we can examine how the love has changed in symbolism over the years using poetry and literature. “One Perfect Rose” by Dorothy Parker and “Cinderella’s Diary” by Ron Koertge both speak about the beauty and gratitude of being in love, Parker speaks more to the materialistic view of love that has been manifesting over the past century, especially in the American culture while Koertge gives a more humble and earnest viewpoint.

The first analytical perspective that can be examined scholarly is the use of tone. These two poems share the same tone, at least partially. In “One Perfect Rose” the tone is heartfelt and honest, with undertones of love and gratitude, but it quickly changes into a sarcastic and ungrateful demeanor. The speaker becoming sarcastic shows that the recipient of the rose sees it as not being enough. The speaker quotes, “Why is it no one ever sent me yet One perfect limousine do you suppose?”(470) What was given was not enough to symbolize or sum up the love that the recipient wishes to receive. The tone in “Cinderella’s Diary” remains sarcastic throughout. There really is not one instance in the story where sarcasm is not exemplified. The speaker using sarcasm is to show ...

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... of the fairy-tale love story.

Tone, symbolism, and imagery are all fantastic ways to view and examine literary works at diverse levels. Using the right lens to study a work can give it a completely different meaning and can lend itself to instill a different lesson than was originally understood. In one work, a rose is thought of as being a discontent and as tool to show the speaker’s true feelings on what love means to her. In another, the simple sight of some commoners forces the speaker to long for a life free of the constraints of a forced marriage, making her yearn for a life of freedom and being normal. Both works use multiple literary techniques to lend themselves too many different elucidations, which makes them such prominent literary gems.

Works Cited

McMahan, Elizabeth. Literature and the writing process . 9th ed. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.