Christina Rossetti: Poems Christina

Rossetti
Summary and Analysis of "Remember" (1862)
Summary:
The narrator, who presumably represents Rossetti, addresses her beloved and encourages
him to remember her after her death. She asks him to remember her even when his memory
of her begins to fade. Eventually, the narrator gives this person (it is unclear if he or she is
real or imagined) her permission to forget her gradually because it is better to "forget and
smile" than to "remember and be sad."

Analysis:
Remember is a Petrarchan sonnet in iambic pentameter, consisting of an ABBA ABBA
octave and a CDE CDE sestet.
Rossetti repeats the word remember throughout the entire poem, as if the narrator fears
that her beloved will not heed her request. Rossetti also uses repetition to underline the vast
boundary between life and death, writing gone away, and later, gone far away. The
silent land is a symbol of death, emphasizing the narrator's loneliness without her beloved
rather, which is stronger than her fear of death itself. Acceptance of death is common in
Pre-Raphaelite philosophy. Pre-Raphaelites believed that material troubles pale in
comparison to the struggles of the mind.
The tone of the octave is contemplative and reconciliatory on the topic of death. The
narrator can finally be at peace because she has renounced her desire for earthly pleasures,
such as the physical presence of her beloved. She is even accepting of death, content to
exist only in her beloved's memory. However, she has not yet made peace with the
possibility that her lover will forget her; this form of death would be more painful than her
physical expiration.
Even though the narrator seems to reach peace with her death at the end of the octave, the
Pre-Raphaelite belief system demands a further renunciation of human desire. The
narrators tone changes with the volta, which is the break between the octave and the sestet.
The volta typically accompanies a change in attitude, which is true in this poem. The
narrator even renounces the need to be remembered, which is ironic because the poem is
titled Remember. She wishes for her beloved to be happy, even if that means forgetting
her. The narrator sacrifices her personal desire in an expression of true love.
"Remember" ultimately deals with the struggle between physical existence and the afterlife.
Rossetti grapples with the idea of a physical body, which is subject to decay and death, and
how it relates to an eternal soul.

Christina Rossetti: Poems Christina

Rossetti
Major Themes
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Tragic love

The Pre-Raphaelite school of thought placed a high aesthetic value on the idea of
unattained love, harkening back to medieval notions of courtship. The underlying belief
was that unrealized love preserves an unsullied state of purity. A knight would contemplate
the virtues of his beloved from afar, with the distance serving to further safeguard her
virtue. This distance between the knight and his maiden could be voluntary or forced, but
regardless, the boundary is impenetrable. Rossetti uses this trope several times: Maude
Clare is separated from Thomas because he marries another woman, while the young
woman in Deaths Chill Between is separated from her beloved because he dies. Longing
for an impossible love creates an emotional image that easily lends itself to powerful art.

Gender and Sexuality

The themes of gender and sexuality feature most prominently in Goblin Market," but also
surface in some degree throughout Rossettis other work. Although Rossetti did not fully
identify with feminism, she recognized the injustice that women faced every day. Goblin
Market confronts the subject of sexual desire, which was taboo in Victorian England.
Laura craves the taste of the fruit, but Lizzie warns her that she will lose her youth and
bloom, both euphemisms for her virginity. By the standards of Victorian society, women
who engaged in premarital sex were considered "fallen" and therefore, no longer
"marriageable." Meanwhile, in the Victorian era, women were just beginning to explore
their sexuality, which resulted in challenging societys (read: men's) expectations. Rossetti
does not explicitly mention the sexual threats against Lizzie in "Goblin Market." However,
Rossetti would have understood the emotional toll of sexual abuse through her work with
prostitutes, so the implication is there.

Acceptance of Death
Christina Rossetti's life was plagued with death. Her father died when she was only twentyfour. In addition, tuberculosis was common in the surrounding London homes and infant
mortality rates were high. Rossetti's isolated adolescence and zealous devotion to the
church led her to spend long periods of time contemplating human mortality. Accepting
death is part of the Christian message, especially since Christians believe in the afterlife. In
addition to her faith, Rossetti's Pre-Raphaelite companions discouraged material wealth and
earthly connections. Rather, Rossetti dwelled on intellectual and religious pursuits,
contemplating the soul and the eternal hereafter. Several of her poems reflect her rejection
of physical bodies, most notably Remember, in which she instructs her lover to forget her
so that he can be happy.

Renunciation of Desire
Pre-Raphaelite philosophy held that the fulfillment of earthly desire was transient, if not
impossible. Instead, the movement encouraged followers to renounce desire altogether,
even the desire to live. This belief resulted in melancholy languor and lugubrious
contemplation amongst the Pre-Raphaelites. Rossetti believed that the only lasting
fulfillment comes from the acceptance of Christ, which will be complete at his Second
Coming. She considered any other pursuits, like love, lust, money and fame, to be vain and
fruitless.

Divine Love
Divine love is Jesus Christ's love for his people, which Christians believe manifested itself
when he was born as a human baby. Divine love is most evident in the nativity and the
crucifixion. Rossetti grew up as a devout Anglican and even contemplated becoming a nun.
She took religion very seriously and wrote about her existential experiences in depth.
Rossetti expounds upon the wonder of divine love in most of her devotional literature,
including Love Came Down at Christmas and In the Bleak Midwinter. For Rossetti,
divine love gave purpose to her existence and a reason to continue living. Rossetti refers to
the crucifixion, which illustrates Christ's unconditional sacrifice, in Goblin Market."

CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI (1830-1894) was a poet of EnglishItalian descent whose primary focus centered around romantic, devotional, and childrens
poetry. She started writing poetry as a young child, composing and reciting her own
original poetry as early as age six. Rosettis first published poem, To My Mother, was
written when she was only 11 years old (although it was not published for several years). In
her teens, Rossetti began writing for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood literary magazine The
Germ, which was operated and edited by her brothers. Although she wrote under the pen
name Ellen Alleyne during this period, it is nonetheless generally considered to be the
beginning of Rossettis public career. Rossetti published her first collection of poems,
Goblin Market and Other Poems, in 1862 under her own name. The collection was
praised highly by reviewers, but produced disappointing sales figures. Three more
collectionsThe Princes Progress and Other Poems, Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme
Book, and Collected Poemswere published in 1886, 1872, and 1875, respectively. After
the death of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1861, Rossetti was looked to as
Brownings successor, and her reputation remained strong following her own death from
cancer in 1894.
Common themes in Rossettis poetry include death, gender and sexuality, the sublime,
tragic love, and religious doubt. A number of twentieth-century scholars have also analyzed
Rossettis poetry through a Freudian lens, looking for signs of guilt and repressed sexuality.
The poem Remember was published by Rossetti in 1862 as a part of her collection
Goblin Market and Other Poems. It is a Petrarchan sonnet with a rhyme scheme of
ABBA ABBA CDE CDE and is one of her better known poems. The word remember is
repeated five times within the poem, which expresses the desire of a (presumably female)
speaker whose hope is that her beloved will keep her memory alive beyond death. The
repeated use of remember and remember me indicate the strength of the speakers
desire to not be forgotten, although this forceful plea is relaxed at the end of the poem when
the speaker acknowledges that the happiness of her beloved is ultimately the most
important thing. While most of the poem is spent trying to ensure that she will be
remembered after she dies, the speaker realizes that keeping her memory alive must not
occur at the price of anothers happiness. She does not want her beloved to be sad that she
is gone, but wants him instead to understand that the afterlife and a physical existence are
two separate realms, and, moreover, to rejoice in the memories of the good times they have
spent together.

Remember - Christina Rossetti [1830-1894]

Relevant Background

Christina Georgina Rossetti was born in London in December 1830, into a family of
poets and artists. She was the youngest of four children.
Her father was an Italian poet.
She was educated at home by her mother.
Rossetti suffered a nervous breakdown at the age of 14. In later years this was
followed by bouts of depression.
She was close to her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and was linked through him
with an art movement that studied nature.
She lived a secluded life. She died of cancer in December 1894.
Rossetti was one of the most important women poets of the 19th Century,
Much of her poetry is religious, though she wrote some passionate love-poetry.
Rossetti refused two offers of marriage because of religious differences.
In her late teens she became engaged to the painter James Collinson but this
relationship eventually ended because of religious differences when Collinson
became a Catholic.
Rosetti wrote the poem Remember when she was 18 or 19 and engaged to
Collinson.
Some readers of this poem think it is concerned with the nearness of death and the
unimportance of earthly love. They say that lots of Rossettis poems show that
being in love tended to remind her of death.

Other readers think Rosetti wanted to end the relationship as her fiance was
crowding her out, trying to control her. Also there was a growing religious
difference between them as Collinson was about to become a Catholic. In other
words, it is a poem about a womans plan to regain her personal freedom.

Summary

There are two ways of looking at this poem.

One way is to say it is a love poem in which the poet repeatedly asks her beloved to
promise hell remember her after her death.
But at the end she says innocently that if remembering her causes him any pain she
will allow him to forget her. Its a bit like saying Think of me when Ive gone to
heaven, but its alright too if you dont want to remember me!
This first interpretation suggests that the speaker or poet has no sense of herself. She
is focused only on the feelings of her beloved. In her mind, he is superior to her and
her concerns. It suggests that the speaker or poet is spiritual but also simple-minded
or even stupid.
The other way is to say that it is a poem about the ending of a relationship.
A woman imagines gaining freedom from her boy-friend. He wants to exercise
complete control over her. Unless she leaves him, he will own her!/li>
It may appear that she is imagining her death, but really she is imagining the
aftermath of the relationship. Its a bit like saying Hey! Let me outa here before
you completely take over my life! After I have left you, remember how you tried to
boss me, but I dont care if you dont remember any of it! Ill be gone!
This second interpretation suggests that the speaker or poet has a strong sense of
herself. Her boy-friend underestimates her. She is teaching him a lesson.
Which is the more interesting way to think about the poem?
Who wants to read a poem in which a lady dreams longingly of dying so that she
can be fondly remembered by her beloved?
Who wants to read a poem in which a woman plans for sweet memories of a
relationship while her future husband just plans to control her life?
Here is a detailed summary of the poem based on the second interpretation.
The poem opens with a demand to her boyfriend to remember her after she leaves
him.
The poet imagines how peaceful life will be without him, in the second line.
In the third line, she imagines herself beyond the reach of her lovers hand. Holding
her by the hand may be a sign of his affection for her. But it probably means that he
wants to keep her in check as if she were a child.
In the fourth line the poet mentions the times when she already thought of leaving
her boy-friend but didnt.
She turned back to him instead. She was indecisive.
But she is no longer indecisive.
In the fifth and sixth lines, she again asks her boy-friend to keep her in his
memories. But she is speaking in a sarcastic way. She is escaping to where he can
no longer control her future life in the way he normally tries to.
In the seventh and eighth lines, she reminds him again to just remember her. She
taunts him by saying that it will be too late for him to brainwash her with his advice
at that stage. She also says it will be too late for him to pray for her return or pray
for her to change her mind.
In the ninth and tenth lines, she mentions that if he forgets her for a while but then
remembers her, it is ok! She mocks him again by asking him not to feel sorry for
heror for himself, maybe!
In the final four lines, the speaker is very cutting to her boy-friend. She is aware that
he is about to become a catholic, a religion that she has no tolerance for. The
speaker compares his religious conversion to darkness and corruption.
If this change leaves him with even a tiny memory of her current thoughts about her
individual freedom it might make him sad. Therefore, it would be better for him to
forget her completely so he wouldnt feel any regrets.
But she says this in a sarcastic way.

Its a bit like saying, Sure, dont let any of my thoughts, or any thoughts of me,
bother you after Ive left you!
If you want to skip this view of the poem and think of it as a poem about a simple
girl dreaming of death then here is a different view of the final four lines.
But if you like the view of the poem that youve just read, stop here to avoid
confusion!
In the final four lines, the poet changes her mind about wanting beloved to
remember her. She states that by remembering her death, he may recall her dark
thoughts regarding death. If thats the case it will be better for him in the long term
to completely forget her. The poet would prefer her beloved to have happy thoughts
after her death. So she will allow him to forget her and smile rather than remember
and be sad.

Themes

Love
The poet after falling in love wants her boyfriend to promise to keep her in mind
after her death. She already sees their young relationship as something to remember
rather than to experience. To expand on this theme, just follow the early points in
the summary and the very last point in the summary.
Death
The poet cannot be in love without thinking of death. Instead of making plans for a
house like a normal couple today, the poet is planning the memories she wants her
husband to have. She portrays death as a place of silence that you cannot return
from. She wants to think of death as a spiritual state rather than as a physical
process of corruption. In the final lines the poet, gives her beloved a means of
letting her go after she dies. She wants him to be happy and forget her rather than
sad because he remembers her.
A womans sense of freedom
For this theme use the points in the second interpretation in the summary above.

Style

Form The poem is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem.

Structure The thought structure follows a division of lines 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to
14. 1 to 8 focus on demands to remember, 9 to 14 focus on forgetting. The first
eight lines of this type of sonnet are known as the octave. The final six lines are
known as the sestet.
Rhyme There is a regular rhyme, following the pattern abba, abba, cddece.
Abba, abba corresponds to the octave, cddece correspond to the sestet. The
pattern in the sestet is less regular than the octave. This is because the speaker
seems to rethink her demand about remembering her and suddenly announces that
he may forget her in the sestet. The thought pattern is less simple, so the rhyme
scheme becomes more complex!.
Language The language is formal rather than everyday. The poet seems to control
her language tightly. But the words and sentence structure are simple.
Diction The only unusual word is vestige, which means trace or hint.
Full Stops and Commas Full stops are a guide to the structure of the poem,
occurring at the end of lines four, eight and fourteen.
Imagery There are not many images in this poem as it is an argument rather than a
description. Most of the material in the poem comes under theme and tone. One of
the main images is of death and living in the after-life. There is an interesting image
of a silent land that means either personal freedom or death. There is also an image
of a woman speaking to her fianc.
Metaphor Silent land is a metaphor for the time after a relationship or the time
after death.
Contrast [difference] There is a contrast in how the speaker, a woman, and a man,
approach a relationship. There is a contrast between the emphasis on remembering
in the octave and forgetting in the sestet.
Mood The phrase when I am gone away creates a sad mood, which dominates the
poem. The reference to our future that you planned creates a new mood. Then
there is a mood of accusation or even of ridicule in the poem.

Paradox [apparent contradiction] Though the poem is called Remember and the
poet seems to demand that her boyfriend remember her in the first eight lines [the
octave], she changes her mind in the final six lines [the sestet] and encourages him
to forget her.
Tone The tone may at first seem sad as the speaker is imagining death. But after
reading the poem a few times, the tone appears to be sarcastic. The speaker is
mocking her husbands plans and ideas about their relationship.
Repetition Note how gone is repeated in line two. List other words that are
repeated in the poem.
Assonance [similar vowel sound repetition] Note how the three repeated o sounds
in line three appear to emphasise the sad mood. Find other vowel repetitions and try
to state what effect they have on mood or tone.
Alliteration [repetition of consonant sounds at the start of nearby words] There are
some examples of alliteration, like h in line three, though they just occur naturally
and are not there to emphasise anything. See how many you can find yourself.
Sibilance [repetition of s sound] Note how the eight s sounds in the last four
lines create a soft effect for the reading voice.