A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Dear friends,

If there is a flower that keeps reocurring in almost each book or movie, than that flower must certainly be the rose. A few days ago I was in our balcony, testing the macro lens and I was way to lazy to move next to the bushes outside our window so I captured the below 2 pictures. I know, I am still very much aware that my manual focus aint that bright but I did not have time to practice... But let us get back to our roses :) Be they white, yellow or red (mostly red, of course!) they appear from Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet to the movies and plays nowadays so I am dedicating today this post to these lovely flowers that can brighten our day even just for a little while :)

In Act II, Scene 1 of the play, the line is said by Juliet in reference to Romeos house, Montague which would imply that his name means nothing and they should be together.

Juliet:
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And Ill no longer be a Capulet.
Romeo:
[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
Juliet:
Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
Whats Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
Whats in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo calld,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
Romeo:
I take thee at thy word:
Call me but love, and Ill be new baptized;
Henceforth I never will be Romeo.

 “Youre beautiful, but youre empty...One couldnt die for you. Of course, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than all of you together, since shes the one Ive watered. Since shes the one I put under glass, since shes the one I sheltered behind the screen. Since shes the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except the two or three butterflies). Since shes the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since shes my rose.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Alice: [singing] Painting the roses red...

Card Painter, Card Painter, Card Painter: [singing]Were painting the roses red. Dont tell the Queen what you have seen or say thats what we said, but were painting the roses red.

Alice:Yes, painting the roses red.

Card Painter: Not pink!

Card Painter:Not green!

Alice: Not aquamarine!

Card Painter, Card Painter, Card Painter:Were painting the roses red!

 “But he who dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.”
Anne Brontë, Best Poems of the Brontë Sisters

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. But then, one winters night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old womans ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress. The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast? 

***

Now tell me, how do you see the rose? What does it signify to you? Does it remind you of stories, fairytales and movies also? Does it make you think of The Little Prince? or maybe of Alice? 

Yours truly,

A LadyBug In Love With Flowers

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