Nathan Cervo describes the poem as "One of the most baffling and enigmatic in the English language"[3] The rose and worm have been considered by critics as "figures of humanity",[4] although Michael Riffaterre doubts the direct equivalence of Man as a worm; when Blake makes this comparison in other places, Riffaterre notes, he is explicit about it. Nevertheless, the "lesson of the worm may be applicable to human experience".