Christina Rossetti Poetry
A Birthday
Meaning:
Upon first reading, this poem could likely be interpreted as a declaration
of love for another, as the speaker talks of their ‘love’, embellishing
throughout with imagery. However, towards the end of the poem it
becomes much more evident that the ‘love’ referred to the poem is god,
Rossetti’s declaration of her love for god. Hence, the speaker refers to a
birthday, being that it was god who gave each person on earth a birthday
by giving them existence at all. The poet explores this factor through the
use of nature which provides an outlet for her emotions, and again allows
for an exploration of her belief that god created all the divine beauty on
earth. As in many of her poems, Rossetti makes certain allusions to the
implications of life and death.
Form/ Structure:
The majority of the poem follows a form of iambic tetrameter; a line of
poetry 'Iambic tetrameter's rhythm fits the natural movement of our
bodies. It is also very easy to read out loud, there being a pause every
eight syllables. Another consideration is that the ‘ti-tum’ sound created
sounds like the beating of a human heart, which creates a relevance to
this first line ‘My heart is like a singing bird’ so that the beating heart of
the speaker becomes at one with the poem. This emphasises that the
speaker’s heart is fully immersed in the feelings and emotions portrayed.
There is a certain harmonious quality to the ABCBDEFE rhyme scheme,
which again reflects the pleasant emotions portrayed.
In the second verse, 4 out of the 7 lines begin with a trochee. Here, the
stress falls on the verbs ‘Raise', ‘Hang', ‘Carve' and ‘Work'. By breaking
out of the regular metrical scheme of the first verse, these trochees
highlight the urgency of the speaker to create something worthy of their
‘love’.
The use of alliteration ‘Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit’ put
emphasis on the spoken ‘b’ sounds which create a sort of bouncing and
lively quality to the line, which portrays an element of joyousness from the
beginning of the poem. Later, we see a use of consonance in the lines
‘paddles in the halcyon sea’, ‘raise me a dais of silk and down’ and ‘In
leaves and silver fleur-de-lys’ in which the soft hushing of the ‘s’ sound
creates a peaceful whispering quality which soothes the sense of the
reader; thereby, conveying this sense of peace and harmony.
A Birthday
Meaning:
Upon first reading, this poem could likely be interpreted as a declaration
of love for another, as the speaker talks of their ‘love’, embellishing
throughout with imagery. However, towards the end of the poem it
becomes much more evident that the ‘love’ referred to the poem is god,
Rossetti’s declaration of her love for god. Hence, the speaker refers to a
birthday, being that it was god who gave each person on earth a birthday
by giving them existence at all. The poet explores this factor through the
use of nature which provides an outlet for her emotions, and again allows
for an exploration of her belief that god created all the divine beauty on
earth. As in many of her poems, Rossetti makes certain allusions to the
implications of life and death.
Form/ Structure:
The majority of the poem follows a form of iambic tetrameter; a line of
poetry 'Iambic tetrameter's rhythm fits the natural movement of our
bodies. It is also very easy to read out loud, there being a pause every
eight syllables. Another consideration is that the ‘ti-tum’ sound created
sounds like the beating of a human heart, which creates a relevance to
this first line ‘My heart is like a singing bird’ so that the beating heart of
the speaker becomes at one with the poem. This emphasises that the
speaker’s heart is fully immersed in the feelings and emotions portrayed.
There is a certain harmonious quality to the ABCBDEFE rhyme scheme,
which again reflects the pleasant emotions portrayed.
In the second verse, 4 out of the 7 lines begin with a trochee. Here, the
stress falls on the verbs ‘Raise', ‘Hang', ‘Carve' and ‘Work'. By breaking
out of the regular metrical scheme of the first verse, these trochees
highlight the urgency of the speaker to create something worthy of their
‘love’.
The use of alliteration ‘Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit’ put
emphasis on the spoken ‘b’ sounds which create a sort of bouncing and
lively quality to the line, which portrays an element of joyousness from the
beginning of the poem. Later, we see a use of consonance in the lines
‘paddles in the halcyon sea’, ‘raise me a dais of silk and down’ and ‘In
leaves and silver fleur-de-lys’ in which the soft hushing of the ‘s’ sound
creates a peaceful whispering quality which soothes the sense of the
reader; thereby, conveying this sense of peace and harmony.
