Song: When I am dead, my dearest
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant though no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if though wilt, remember,
And if though wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
_
Context
- Lilies were typical funeral flowers, not roses which symbolises love.
- Rossetti was dedicated to her religion, it being the forefront topic in many of her poems
including this one.
- This poem’s themes are shared by Remember and A Birthday.
- There were many traditions revolving around death, one such tradition being that women
wore coal jewellery instead of actual jewellery.
- Another tradition regarding death was covering the mirrors: This was due to their beliefs in
superstition, if a mirror broke it meant that death would occur to somebody else.
- There were coffin alarms in case somebody was buried alive (as there were many
occurrences of that happening.)
- The religious faith in Victorian England was Anglo-Catholic.
A/N: The notes on this poem is in the comments if they are not displayed immediately.
When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant though no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree:
Be the green grass above me
With showers and dewdrops wet;
And if though wilt, remember,
And if though wilt, forget.
I shall not see the shadows,
I shall not feel the rain;
I shall not hear the nightingale
Sing on, as if in pain:
And dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set,
Haply I may remember,
And haply may forget.
_
Context
- Lilies were typical funeral flowers, not roses which symbolises love.
- Rossetti was dedicated to her religion, it being the forefront topic in many of her poems
including this one.
- This poem’s themes are shared by Remember and A Birthday.
- There were many traditions revolving around death, one such tradition being that women
wore coal jewellery instead of actual jewellery.
- Another tradition regarding death was covering the mirrors: This was due to their beliefs in
superstition, if a mirror broke it meant that death would occur to somebody else.
- There were coffin alarms in case somebody was buried alive (as there were many
occurrences of that happening.)
- The religious faith in Victorian England was Anglo-Catholic.
A/N: The notes on this poem is in the comments if they are not displayed immediately.
