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"A Rose for Emily"

JAMES M. MELLARD (ESSAY DATE FALL 1986)

SOURCE: Mellard, James M. "Faulkner's Miss Emily and Blake's 'Sick Rose': 'Invisible Worm,' Nachträglichkeit, and Retrospective Gothic." Faulkner Journal 2, no. 1 (fall 1986): 37-45.

In the following essay, Mellard argues that in "A Rose for Emily" Faulkner utilizes William Blake's "The Sick Rose" as a source and inspiration for his Gothic narrative.

Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them, but not for love.

                                     —Shakespeare

Perhaps the last thing the world needs just now is another study of Faulkner's macabre masterpiece, "A Rose for Emily." Least of all, perhaps, do we need another suggestion regarding the story's plot sources, titular allusions, or literary analogues. By now the most frequently anthologized and, therefore,...

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1. Introduction
2. Principal Works
3. Primary Sources
   1. William Faulkner (Story Date 1930)
4. General Commentary
   1. Elizabeth M. Kerr (Essay Date 1979)
5. Title Commentary
   1. "A Rose for Emily"
   2. Sanctuary
6. Further Reading

1. William Faulkner