‘The rose that grew from concrete’ Poetry Analysis:
•The poem is about the poet's life- Tupac Shakur. The rose growing in concrete represents
Tupac Shakur's life.
•It is a free verse and organic poem because it has no set pattern or rhyme scheme and
formal rules, allowing the poet to express themselves freely.
•The poem is about reaching our goals in life despite the hardships and conflicts that we
face on the way.
•The rose held on to its dreams and learned to breath fresh air: This refers to the rose
succeeding by using what it had - dreams and fresh air.
•The rose proves nature wrong: The rose succeeds in growing through concrete - a place
where naturally roses should not grow.
•The rose learned to walk without having feet: This refers to success in spite of a lack of
care and opportunities for the rose.
•Long live the rose that grew from concrete: The speaker claims that the rose will live a
long time because it held on to its dreams.
Concrete is a symbolism of the ghetto.
Figures of speech/ Poetic Devices:
Extended metaphor:
The rose's life = the poet - Tupac Shakur's life. He succeeded in spite of coming from the
ghetto.
The rose had no feet – metaphor(comparing the rose to a human) + personification(only
humans have feet, not roses/plants, although their roots could be compared to feet). This
line means Tupac Shakur had no opportunities to succeed in life(no feet/opportunities to
take him places).
•The poem is about the poet's life- Tupac Shakur. The rose growing in concrete represents
Tupac Shakur's life.
•It is a free verse and organic poem because it has no set pattern or rhyme scheme and
formal rules, allowing the poet to express themselves freely.
•The poem is about reaching our goals in life despite the hardships and conflicts that we
face on the way.
•The rose held on to its dreams and learned to breath fresh air: This refers to the rose
succeeding by using what it had - dreams and fresh air.
•The rose proves nature wrong: The rose succeeds in growing through concrete - a place
where naturally roses should not grow.
•The rose learned to walk without having feet: This refers to success in spite of a lack of
care and opportunities for the rose.
•Long live the rose that grew from concrete: The speaker claims that the rose will live a
long time because it held on to its dreams.
Concrete is a symbolism of the ghetto.
Figures of speech/ Poetic Devices:
Extended metaphor:
The rose's life = the poet - Tupac Shakur's life. He succeeded in spite of coming from the
ghetto.
The rose had no feet – metaphor(comparing the rose to a human) + personification(only
humans have feet, not roses/plants, although their roots could be compared to feet). This
line means Tupac Shakur had no opportunities to succeed in life(no feet/opportunities to
take him places).
