One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker has a special style of writing, and the poem "One Perfect Rose" is a perfect introduction to her style. The poem is written in her unmistakably witty, ironic, and at the same time sentimental manner. It should be also noted that this poem was published in her collection "Enough Rope", where Dorothy Parker speaks about the threat of losing love and uncovers the hypocrisy of romantic words. Parker's style reminds the reader the 'slice of life' where laughter always overwhelms tears, and questions are answered in a witty manner, when sentimentality is suddenly interrupted by the poet's cynic mask.

The title of the poem is "One Perfect Rose" inspires the thought that the poem will be dedicated to love, romance, sentimental feelings, and the relationships between man and woman. Indeed, when you start reading the first and the second stanzas, you might believe that
"One Perfect Rose" is some sort of romantic devotion to a beloved person and to some tender and memorable moment in the woman's past. The reoccurring image of one perfect rose voices this message, as both Dorothy Parker's style of writing and word choice inspire the romantic feelings. Yet, when you continue reading, the mood of the poem undergoes drastic changes, when in the third and the final stanza the reader reveals the "mystery" of the poet's intention, which seems to be done on purpose, in a somewhat cynic manner.

It seems that Dorothy Parker uses such words like "pure", "tenderly", "perfect", in order to describe both - the sender and the flower itself. These words make the reader believe that the poem expresses pure love and passion the woman feels toward the sender of the rose. The stanzas are concise but expressive. They are written in ABAB format, thus making the poem to sound like a melody (Gill). Again, this deceives the reader because such structure of the poem affects the reaction of the reader and makes him believe that "One Perfect Rose" is some sort of romantic story.

However, during the second reading of the poem, the reader notices that the man has send only a "single flower" - one perfect rose; nothing, except of the flower. Parker than says that "Love long has taken for his amulet" and the reader comes to conclusion that this symbol of love, devotion and pure feelings is, probably, not very honorable. And here come the third and the final stanzas of the poem, where Dorothy Parker reveals her true intention. These stanzas are in the same format, - four lines with the odd and even rhyming, short and expressive. The poet exclaims - "Why is it no one ever sent me yet one perfect limousine, do you suppose?" and continues, mocking on the gift she was lucky to get from the sender - "Ah no, it's always just my luck to get one perfect rose" (Parker).

It is obvious that the word "limousine" was taken on purpose, as it doesn't mean the girl wanted to get a luxury car in particular. The phrase "one perfect rose" was repeated several times, and it has almost the same effect as one word "limousine". This word rather means that the person, who sent her "one perfect rose", spent no effort to show that the woman is really important for him. He preferred sending one flower that obviously meant nothing for the girl. The girl didn't want it, and it was unwanted and unnecessary, as the girl would prefer something else, considering that if the sender was really going to make an effort, he should have make it for something more "tangible" and worthy her time.

Works Cited

Gill, B. The Portable Dorothy Parker. New York: The Viking Press, 1973.

Parker, D. One Perfect Rose. 24 October 2007 .