"SWEET SUMMER BUDS"
I
"Morning Roses Newly Washed with Dew"
THE ROSE (Rosa). Shakespeare speaks of the rose more frequently than any other flower. Sixty references to the rose are scattered through his works. Sometimes he talks of the rose itself and sometimes he uses the word to make a striking comparison, or analogy. With magical touch he gives us the bold picture of a
Red rose on triumphant briar,
then he brings before us a delicious whiff of the
Perfumèd tincture of the roses,
or the luscious fragrance of
Morning roses newly washed with dew.
With equal delicacy of perception he tells us
So sweet a kiss the golden sun gives not
To those fresh morning drops upon the rose.[49]