which simultaneously bestows upon him the power to provoke her and to 'delight' in the pain he causes by so doing. One theme continuously echoes through the minds of critics: Possessiveness. Possessiveness Antal states that "The man actually imprisons his partner who reacts accordingly - to ownership with distrust." Antal also goes further to mention the frequent use of the word "my" in the poem, especially when in reference to rose tree. The man lays claim over the rose tree, and though he tends to her every need, seems to get nothing but contempt and jealousy from her. Not only is the rose tree trapped underneath the possessiveness of the man, but another "trap" could be implied according to Antal with "The rose-tree, as a rose bush, hints at the possibility of childbearing." Durant furthers the point of possessiveness when he says, "The keyword is 'I've'. What he affirms is not that he is hers, but that she is his. He is not thinking of his responsibility to her, but of his rights over her, and of her obligations towards him." This interpretation makes it sound as if the man is expecting the woman to bear him children. In a time where women were considered men's property anyway, not only would the woman be possessed by her husband, but her children as well. If the rose tree, or rather the woman, fears that her husband is unfaithful to her, she wouldn't want to trap her children within that environment. References Sources Antal, Eva. ""Labour of Love"—Ovidian Flower-Figures in William Blake's Songs." Eger Journal of English Studies (2008): 23-40. Web. Durant, G. H. "Blake's 'My Pretty Rose Tree'--An Interpretation." Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory (1965): 33–37. Web. Durrant, G. H. "Blake's 'My Pretty Rose-Tree'." Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory (1968): 1–5. Web. Johnson, Mary Lynn. "Emblem and Symbol in Blake." Huntington Library Quarterly (1974): 151–170. Web. External links A Full Comparison of Extant Copies of Blake's hand colored original prints are available through the William Blake Archive 1794 poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience