CHRISTINA ROSSETTI ESSAY
PLANS
DEATH AND LOSS
OUR MOTHERS AND ECHO
MEANING
Both poems explore the existential question of the afterlife, creating a bittersweet tone
in response to death as both retain this idea of death being a form of paradise
Echo- ambiguous portrayal of loss which could be considered either literal or
metaphorical loss of love to be retained in the afterlife
Our mothers- a more expansive view of loss, the expectations a Christian
woman may have to reach heaven.
FORM/STRUCTURE
Structure in the case of both poems reflects a transcendence to heaven but also amplify
the emotions associated with loss
Echo:
Personal connection with a loved one
Regular rhyme scheme- an easy transition (perhaps transience with a loved
one)
Parallelisms in language- a lost connection between two people
Use of sound- hushing ‘s’ sounds create literal echoes
‘Watch the slow door’- short line connotes a physical shutting of the door
between life and death.
Our mothers:
The legacy that Christian women leave as they die
Collective pronoun ‘our’ establishes a broad message
Petrarchan sonnet form- equal division into octave and sestet, establishes
problem and solution; women should remain stoic in life to enjoy paradise
Structural weight- this could imply the weight on the speaker’s shoulders/ a
sense of pressure
Ambiguity- ‘whether or not you bear to look on me’
LANGUAGE
Echo:
Bittersweet consideration of the afterlife with underlying connotations of regret
Cherub-like imagery- ‘soft rounded cheeks’ in which ‘soft’ holds a certain
delicacy
, Soft sounds- ‘speaking silence of a dream’ sounds as an intangible whisper
Our Mothers:
Biblical imagery- ‘the lord will wipe our tears away’ salvation found in god
Imperatives- ‘learn’ ‘work’ encourage passivity
Juxtaposition- ‘confident in dule’ – the extremes to which a woman must go to
reach the afterlife
CONTEXT
Loss of Charles Cayley- romantic
Loss of her father- non romantic
Rossetti’s non-feminist views
‘The lord will wipe our tears away’- a reference to Isaiah
Victorian ideas of death and mourning
MEMORY AND MAY
MEANING
Both poems use ambiguity to imply loss of a loved one either metaphorically or literally
Memory- Rossetti presents a speakers feeling of loss through choice, however the loss
implies rejecting a ‘false’ idol such as earthly love in favor of heavenly redemption
May- Rossetti presents a speaker feeling of loss as something is removed from their life
or taken away from them
STRUCTURE/FORM
Memory:
Mixed presentation of loss- unlike many of Rossetti’s poems a decision to renounce
earthly love does not seem to come with ease for the speaker
Structural division in time- ‘sea- change’ a sense of mourning in a sense other
than death
Change in pace- First stanza with more pauses and longer clauses, appearing
sombre and slow-feeling. Second half shows increased pace, with more
frequented use of caesura, appearing joyous.
Iambic pentameter- suggestion of natural speech, personal and truthful
Trimester- in the final line of stanza 1 appears unnatural along with the used of
the end-stopped line, suggesting repressed emotion.
Repetition of ‘alone’- ingrained sense of isolation
May:
Truncated Sonnet- Octave and sestet with Volta like change suggesting a
transient shift, leaving ‘it’ behind in May.
Fruitful imagery shifts to negative language- as May and ‘it’ are left behind
Rhyme scheme deviates- couplets, triplets and half-rhyme scheme. Connotes
the negative effect of personal loss on the speaker.
PLANS
DEATH AND LOSS
OUR MOTHERS AND ECHO
MEANING
Both poems explore the existential question of the afterlife, creating a bittersweet tone
in response to death as both retain this idea of death being a form of paradise
Echo- ambiguous portrayal of loss which could be considered either literal or
metaphorical loss of love to be retained in the afterlife
Our mothers- a more expansive view of loss, the expectations a Christian
woman may have to reach heaven.
FORM/STRUCTURE
Structure in the case of both poems reflects a transcendence to heaven but also amplify
the emotions associated with loss
Echo:
Personal connection with a loved one
Regular rhyme scheme- an easy transition (perhaps transience with a loved
one)
Parallelisms in language- a lost connection between two people
Use of sound- hushing ‘s’ sounds create literal echoes
‘Watch the slow door’- short line connotes a physical shutting of the door
between life and death.
Our mothers:
The legacy that Christian women leave as they die
Collective pronoun ‘our’ establishes a broad message
Petrarchan sonnet form- equal division into octave and sestet, establishes
problem and solution; women should remain stoic in life to enjoy paradise
Structural weight- this could imply the weight on the speaker’s shoulders/ a
sense of pressure
Ambiguity- ‘whether or not you bear to look on me’
LANGUAGE
Echo:
Bittersweet consideration of the afterlife with underlying connotations of regret
Cherub-like imagery- ‘soft rounded cheeks’ in which ‘soft’ holds a certain
delicacy
, Soft sounds- ‘speaking silence of a dream’ sounds as an intangible whisper
Our Mothers:
Biblical imagery- ‘the lord will wipe our tears away’ salvation found in god
Imperatives- ‘learn’ ‘work’ encourage passivity
Juxtaposition- ‘confident in dule’ – the extremes to which a woman must go to
reach the afterlife
CONTEXT
Loss of Charles Cayley- romantic
Loss of her father- non romantic
Rossetti’s non-feminist views
‘The lord will wipe our tears away’- a reference to Isaiah
Victorian ideas of death and mourning
MEMORY AND MAY
MEANING
Both poems use ambiguity to imply loss of a loved one either metaphorically or literally
Memory- Rossetti presents a speakers feeling of loss through choice, however the loss
implies rejecting a ‘false’ idol such as earthly love in favor of heavenly redemption
May- Rossetti presents a speaker feeling of loss as something is removed from their life
or taken away from them
STRUCTURE/FORM
Memory:
Mixed presentation of loss- unlike many of Rossetti’s poems a decision to renounce
earthly love does not seem to come with ease for the speaker
Structural division in time- ‘sea- change’ a sense of mourning in a sense other
than death
Change in pace- First stanza with more pauses and longer clauses, appearing
sombre and slow-feeling. Second half shows increased pace, with more
frequented use of caesura, appearing joyous.
Iambic pentameter- suggestion of natural speech, personal and truthful
Trimester- in the final line of stanza 1 appears unnatural along with the used of
the end-stopped line, suggesting repressed emotion.
Repetition of ‘alone’- ingrained sense of isolation
May:
Truncated Sonnet- Octave and sestet with Volta like change suggesting a
transient shift, leaving ‘it’ behind in May.
Fruitful imagery shifts to negative language- as May and ‘it’ are left behind
Rhyme scheme deviates- couplets, triplets and half-rhyme scheme. Connotes
the negative effect of personal loss on the speaker.
