Christina Rossetti Poetry
As Froth on the face of the deep
Meaning:
In this short poem, Rossetti takes inspiration from the ‘Book of revelation’,
looking at the text of St. John which follows, she not only draws from this
apocalyptic literature but also examines the idea of Christ’s return to
earth ‘She warns against idle curiosity and encourages adoration of Christ
as the final goal of Revelation’. Despite the strong use of natural imagery
throughout the poem, there is a persistent link to the spirit of God. Her
work could be described somewhat as devotional commentary, in which
she explores the theme of patience and redemption for the action of god.
Indeed, though there is some acknowledgement that ‘The book of
revelation’ was actually written based on historical contexts, Rossetti
chooses to follow her Tractarian Anglo-Catholic beliefs and interpret such
an apocalyptic vision as an act of God.
Form and Structure
The poem itself follows a regular rhyme scheme which could convey this
image of the consistency of the rolling waves, which could be said to
reflect the reliability of god and the Tractarian belief that God will return
Jesus to earth, hence the cyclical nature of the waves. Moreover, this
concept is all the more added to by the repetitive use of anaphoric simile
at the beginning of each line, excluding the final conclusive couplet
‘Is hope if it cling not aright,
O my god, unto thee’
Which is almost isolated from the rest of the poem. The use of
enjambment here, which divides ‘O my god’ and ‘unto thee’ accentuates
the difference in structure the rest of the poem and also provides the
reader to a conclusion which Rossetti builds to throughout the start of the
poem. This couplet allows Christina to convey her ultimate devotion to
god, creating the idea that life is hopeless without the existence of such
devotion.
Language
Looking at the very first line ‘As froth on the face of the deep’ we see this
use of alliteration with the fricative sound ‘f’ repeated ‘froth’ and ‘face’
which should sound harsh but combined with the soft sounds created by
‘th’ and the ‘s’ sound created by ‘ce’ seems reflective of the soft foamy
nature of the ‘froth’. And equally the use of ‘s’ sounds throughout the
poem ‘sea’, ‘sleep’ reflects the soft hush of crashing waves.
As Froth on the face of the deep
Meaning:
In this short poem, Rossetti takes inspiration from the ‘Book of revelation’,
looking at the text of St. John which follows, she not only draws from this
apocalyptic literature but also examines the idea of Christ’s return to
earth ‘She warns against idle curiosity and encourages adoration of Christ
as the final goal of Revelation’. Despite the strong use of natural imagery
throughout the poem, there is a persistent link to the spirit of God. Her
work could be described somewhat as devotional commentary, in which
she explores the theme of patience and redemption for the action of god.
Indeed, though there is some acknowledgement that ‘The book of
revelation’ was actually written based on historical contexts, Rossetti
chooses to follow her Tractarian Anglo-Catholic beliefs and interpret such
an apocalyptic vision as an act of God.
Form and Structure
The poem itself follows a regular rhyme scheme which could convey this
image of the consistency of the rolling waves, which could be said to
reflect the reliability of god and the Tractarian belief that God will return
Jesus to earth, hence the cyclical nature of the waves. Moreover, this
concept is all the more added to by the repetitive use of anaphoric simile
at the beginning of each line, excluding the final conclusive couplet
‘Is hope if it cling not aright,
O my god, unto thee’
Which is almost isolated from the rest of the poem. The use of
enjambment here, which divides ‘O my god’ and ‘unto thee’ accentuates
the difference in structure the rest of the poem and also provides the
reader to a conclusion which Rossetti builds to throughout the start of the
poem. This couplet allows Christina to convey her ultimate devotion to
god, creating the idea that life is hopeless without the existence of such
devotion.
Language
Looking at the very first line ‘As froth on the face of the deep’ we see this
use of alliteration with the fricative sound ‘f’ repeated ‘froth’ and ‘face’
which should sound harsh but combined with the soft sounds created by
‘th’ and the ‘s’ sound created by ‘ce’ seems reflective of the soft foamy
nature of the ‘froth’. And equally the use of ‘s’ sounds throughout the
poem ‘sea’, ‘sleep’ reflects the soft hush of crashing waves.
