Pink Roses: Associated with appreciation, admiration, and gratitude, pink roses are a perfect choice for expressing thanks to a friend or mentor 2.

White Roses: Representing purity, innocence, and new beginnings, white roses are often used in weddings and funerals 2.

Yellow Roses: Symbolize friendship, joy, and happiness. They convey sunny feelings and cheerful connections 2.

Orange Roses: These vibrant blooms convey enthusiasm, excitement, and fascination. Their warm hue sparks curiosity and interest 

c:

The rose is used in Romeo and Juliet and shows their love is strong, but they can never be together.

‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.’

This is one of the most frequently quoted passages Shakespeare ever wrote. Here he uses the rose to represent the fact that the name of something doesn’t have any impact on its beauty and goodness. Juliet is wishing that her family could appreciate Romeo as an individual, rather than defining him by the name of the family he comes from. White roses. White roses usually symbolise purity and innocence. This is why they are traditionally associated with weddings. However, white roses can also represent new beginnings. Additionally, they are sometimes used to symbolise death and the next life, as these flowers are frequently found at funerals.

In other forms of literature, the rose represents the beauty of to be loved, for example in a famous song by Edmund Waller: ‘Go, Lovely Rose’

Robert Burns compared a red rose to his sweetheart in a poem he wrote. In this interpretation, it represented beauty, purity. The red colour also represents romance and intimacy.

a) History and Variations:

   - Rose: symbol of love, beauty, and passion for centuries in various cultures worldwide. It represents emotions like desire, longing, and sensuality.

   - In different cultures, roses may vary in colours and meanings. For example:

     - Red roses: romantic love and desire.

     - White roses: purity, innocence, and new beginnings.

     - Yellow roses: friendship, joy, and warmth.

     - Pink roses: gratitude, admiration, and appreciation.

     - Black roses: death, mourning, or farewell.

b) Typical Usage in Art and Literature:

   - Roses are used in poetry as symbols of love and beauty. Poets use roses to evoke emotions and convey themes of romance and longing.

   - In visual arts, roses are frequently depicted in paintings. It can be used for aesthetics, and colour, mostly in paintings.

   - Roses can also be seen in plays, novels, and films as symbols of passion, desire, and transformation. They appear as props.

c) Presentation in Art and Literature:

   - In art, roses have intricate details, delicate petals, thorns, and vibrant colours.

   - In literature, they are described with vivid language and imagery. Writers use roses for creating a romantic atmosphere/mood, set the scene, and develop characters.

By obscuring the face, the mask hides not only physical features but also emotions and vulnerabilities.

In the case of the Beast, the mask becomes a protective barrier, shielding his true self from the world. It represents the emotional armor he wears to navigate a harsh reality.

Emotional Suppression:

The Beast’s choice to wear the mask reflects his emotional repression.

Just as the mask conceals his face, he conceals his feelings, desires, and fears.

His transformation into a tiger further emphasizes this emotional suppression. Tigers are fierce, solitary creatures, and by becoming one, the Beast distances himself from human vulnerability.

Demonic Tendencies:

The mask’s association with demons adds an eerie layer to the narrative.

Demons often embody hidden desires, forbidden knowledge, and primal instincts.

By wearing the mask, the Beast taps into these darker aspects of his nature. His demonic tendencies are both a curse and a liberation—a way to break free from societal norms and expectations.

The Unmasking:

The pivotal moment in the story occurs when the heroine dares to unmask the Beast.

As she peels away the layers—both literal and metaphorical—the Beast’s vulnerability is exposed.

The act of revealing his true face becomes an act of intimacy, trust, and acceptance.

We can see the motif in all the stories when the woman in each story is seen going through either major or minor physical or mental changes this seen in the end the the tigers bride when the girl become a tiger or when the girl in wolf alice slowly becomes more humane.

My motif is typically used in many stories in various ways, for example the character could not be changing but the reader/viewer could be discovering new things about the character and this would be seen as character development but it could also be that the character goes through events and does change themselves and the way they are seen.

It can be seen in music in some cases since some songs will use a story to develop on somone they are talking about or they could be talking about themselves

"My mother did not blossom long; bartered for her dowry to such a feckless sprig of the Russian nobility that she soon died of his gaming, his whoring, his agonizing repentances." pg. 57

The meaning of a sprig is generally associated with growth, new beginnings, or a small, delicate element. Her mother, like her was given away (married to his father) for money. A "sprig" refers to a small twig, or branch of a plant. In this context, the heroine is calling her father small, insignificant, and an unimpressive member of the Russian nobility.

Willows:

Only twice in the story are willows mentioned, On page 64 they are described as "mutilated," and on page 70 they are said to be "decapitated."

The willow tree has diverse symbolism globally, often associated with characteristics like resilience, flexibility, mourning, and healing.

An example of the use of the willow in poetry is "The Willow Tree" by Robert Burns.

The willow hung her branches o'er the stream, The brook, just twinkling in the moonbeam; The waving moon, the birch and tree, The dancing moonbeam on the lea; The glittering stars, the syren queens, The echoes of the roaring streams; The charm of beauty's powerful glance, The magic of her sweet romance.

In songs, Taylor Swift has a song named willow. the song explores themes of love, fate, and following a connection. The willow tree is metaphorically used in the lyrics, representing a longing for a romantic relationship and the idea of destiny intertwining with love.

Later in the story, her father cries and asks for a rose, as a sign of forgiveness. The heroine gives him a rose, but she pricks her finger on it and smears it with blood. It is not just a symbol of the heroine’s purity but the blood and thorns, showing the pain she felt from her objectification, that her mother also faced.

A rose is also relevant to Beauty and The Beast, as a sign of romance and urgency.

History and context of it 

• Expatica. (2024). The meaning of flowers around the world. [online] Available at: https://www.expatica.com/global/living/love/meaning-of-flowers-447389/ [Accessed 9 Feb. 2024]. 

• In Latvia and Hungary roses are given at funerals 

• Undying love in Vietnam is expressed with a single rose, in Brazil it’s 12  

• In Korea you may recieve them for you rbirthday 

• In Italy roses are either love or desire for victory 

• In Catalonia it is used to celebrate the feast of Sain George. A celebration around a Saint who killed a dragon and saw a rose grow from its blood 

• Surprose.com. (2019). Surprose.com. [online] Available at: https://www.surprose.com/blog/meaning-of-rose-colours#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20blue%20roses%20symbolise,fresh%20start%20or%20a%20farewell. [Accessed 9 Feb. 2024] 

• Blue roses symbolise mystery 

• Yellow roses are friendly 

• Green roses represent strength and fertility 

• Orange roses are for joy 

• Pink roses are for giving thanks 

• White roses are innocence, purity and loyalty 

• Red roses are widely used for romance 

Use in media: 

• Carlson, T. (2017). Roses in Pop Culture Movies and Stories. [online] 1800Flowers Petal Talk. Available at: https://www.1800flowers.com/blog/flowers-in-art/roses-in-pop-culture/#:~:text=For%20years%2C%20directors%20and%20creators,lust%20to%20destruction%20and%20rebirth. [Accessed 9 Feb. 2024]. 

• American Beauty  

• Beauty and the Beast 

• In Alice in Wonderland, white roses are accidentally planted and the red queen’s servants paint them red as the queen only likes red flowers. They fear the violence she might enact 

How it is used in media: 

• The white roses represent Alice’s innocence before falling down the rabbit hole, in her journey she is forced to mature which is what the red roses represents 

• In American Beauty the roses symbolize lust and passion at first (from a very predatory old man) but eventually it represents the decay of the ideal American suburban dream life as a family is torn apart by the father’s desires 

• In Beauty and The Beast the rose represents physical beauty and fate as the rose petals fall as the Beast’s time to fall in love to become human again runs out 

It is first used in the beginning of the story when the heroine's father gambles her away when he loses a game of cards against the Tiger. This event leads to her growing stronger and changing as she decides to take control and be herself. The idea of gambling is used to question society's rules and show the woman taking back her power.