Rossetti

rossetti poems

?

Cousin Kate - Christina Rossetti

Plot summary = Cousin Kate is the story of a woman who is jilted by her lover in favour of her cousin, and it is about the woman rertelling the story, but also ends with her pride (juxta posing everything else in her life) MEN are portrayed as animal like and bad and it covers betrayal and loyalty. FORM- ballad octave. Indentation during stanza's (displaying how the male and female characters don't fit together (fallen women) LONG STANZA'S why? Cousin Kate is written in the form of 3 and 4 foot Iambic trimeters andtetrameters. This allows the poem to be read at speed and enables a more pronounced rhythm to develop that would be impossible in a poem consisting of longer lines.The ballad-like qualities of the rhythm reflect the morals or ideas that her speaker wishes her tale to conveytructure- Retrospective - showing her nostalgia for her "pure days" speed of the plot - mirrors fickleness of characters. Contrast hardened to love. The soft innocence of the speaker before her life changed is conveyed by the soft M of ‘maiden’, ‘mates’ and ‘mindful’ in stanza 1When the speaker claims that she was led to the lord’s house to lead a ‘shameless shameful life’, the sibilance in this line reinforces the joining together of oxymorons that these words perform. It also reflects the hushed manner in which the speaker was ensnared by the lord, taken in, then later cast aside.Langauge - "Shameless shameful life" internal ryhme, emotion? Animal like/predator objectifying women (power) "he chose you" "lured" - danger *ending irony - she feels she has won, realisation of what is more important.

1 of 7

Jessie Cameron - Christina Rossetti

FORM - regular abab rhyme scheme that continues throughout poem reflects regular sweeping tides of sea which comes back upon itself before it moves forward.Resembling the rhyme scheme of traditional ballad, rhyme in Jessie Cameron works to carry the story forward at a fast pace and emphasises the drama of the situation.LANGUAGE- The dialogue between Jessie and her lover is argumentative. He cannot accept.. Their conversation is portrayed like the sea, with words being ‘flung to and fro’ (line 102). As the tide becomes more aggressive, so the speech of the lover becomes louder and more urgent (line 39). The repeated S sound mimics the uncomfortable sound of a scream. Allteration ..Replicates the monotony of sound of the sea as its waves roll in and out without pauseCreates a hushed ‘shh’ sound reflect silencing that Jessie experiences in death Highlights mystery of story as sea ‘for all its stir / Finds no voice’ with which to tell it (lines 107-8).STRUCTURE - dashes are inserted at the end of lines to indicate pauses. They appear in first few verses following lover’s questioning of Jessie and suggest a pause in conversation where he is left in suspense before receiving her rejection. Later, dashes are inserted to indicate the uncertain movements of the sea.THE STORY Two young people, Jessie and her spurned lover. Whilst they stand on a beach at dusk, he begs for her love & she continues to reject his pleas. soon tide comes in/traps them. 2nd haff of the poem is based on the suspicions of neighbours.

2 of 7

A Royal Princess - Christina Rossetti

 contrasts! watching people suffer due to the rule of her father causes her pain. Whilst she is provided with all the riches she could ever want (maid-servants to look after her need, luxuries that come from all around the world), her longing for justice, along with her loneliness and isolation, make her unhappy. FORM- ballad metre. use of triplets! reminder that the princess, unlike the animals on the ark is alone. Throughout A Royal Princess, Rossetti uses long lines to reflect the narrative elements of the poem and to reinforce the fast and urgent tone with which she speaks. In poetry, a six-foot line is called a hexameter and a seven-foot line is called a heptameter. A Royal Princess uses a combination of these lines.The rhythm of A Royal Princess is largely trochaic. A trochee is a falling metre and is suited to reflect the monotony of the princess’ life. LANGUAGE - references to ARK NOAH RELIGION FLOOD. Birds and noahs ark, what do they represent? She's a strong female character defying her father. Brave. If I perish < repeated emphasis on bravery and refernece to bible. Rythmns swaps at the end, resembles that she has changed roles, now cares, and the beggars now get angry (burn stuff) so the long line at the beginning of the last 2 stanzas show that. STRUCTURE - The poem is largely written in the form of triplets. With each three consecutive lines sharing the same rhyme, the pace at which the poem is read is quick. The regularity of the rhyme scheme demonstrates an attempt to give some kind of order to the tumultuous and chaotic emotions of the princess. The poem begins with the word ‘I’ and throughout, the princess repeatedly uses the word in an attempt to establish her own identity. *linear chronology but AMBIGUOUS ENDING OOO.. bible it's how YOU interpret it? :)

3 of 7

Maude Clare - Christina Rossetti

Maude Clare has turned up tp a wedding "out of the church she followed them" she is the groom's ex lover and she has come to say (in a bitter tone) we spent all that time together and now she's being confronted by Nell, who confesses love for the man!FORM- BALLAD (story of events) the abcb rhyme scheme offers a variation on the traditional ballad in that, by not rhyming the final words of the first and third lines of each verse, it avoids fitting smoothly into a predictable pattern.<unpredicatable maude clare. DEPICTS SOCIETY BACK THEN (FALLEN WOMAN HELPLESS) LANGUAGE- "bloom were gone" fertility << maude clares bitterness. "His bride" men owed woman. Man only named by his mother. WEAK! Maude Clare and Nell are compared as suitable marriage partners for Sir Thomas. Their differences are emphasised from the start. Whereas Nell was ‘like a village maid’, ‘Maude Clare was like a queen’ (lines 3-4). The similes here highlight the difference between Nell, the country maiden and Maude Clare, the imperious, jealous ‘other woman’.Nell’s speech seems to begin less with an expression of her emotions than with an echo of what has just passed. By uttering the words, ‘For he’s my lord for better and worse’ (line 43) directly after coming out of the church, she repeats the words of the wedding service in which she has just participated.By using the word ‘till’, she suggests that, despite marrying her, Thomas does not yet love her better than he does Maude. In repeating her intention to cause him to love her ‘best of all’, she acknowledges the struggle she experiences in presenting herself as an image of security and happiness.

4 of 7

Winter: My secret - Christina Rossetti

A female speaker (determined by the female clothing she alludes to) is addressing an auditor who has asked her to tell her ‘secret’. She refuses on the grounds that the day is too cold, that perhaps there is nothing to tell and that she does not want to reveal herself, just as she does not want to be exposed to the cold. (alternative interpretation is that it's about rossetti's concerns of men and trust?) FORM -  The metre throughout the poem is largely iambic reflecting the conversational expression of feeling as the speaker strives to hide behind a protective mask. Throughout, the use of iambic feet ensures that the rhyming sounds are always stressed. For instance, in the line, ‘His nose to Russian snows’ (line 19), the ‘s’ sound is stressed to highlight the persistence of the snowy weather.By structuring the first verse around an iambic rhythm, Rossetti ensures that the repeated word ‘tell’ is stressed in addition to the exclamation ‘well’ (lines 1, 6, 5). By placing the metric stress on these words, she highlights the way in which the speaker teases the listener by asking whether or not it would be wise to reveal her secret. LANGUAGE- For instance, by usingenjambement in the third verse and placing the word ‘March’ at the start of a line, Rossetti both highlights the overflowing nature of the speaker Winter: My Secret, the speaker echoes the (assumed) questions within her responses in l.1, 2, 5 and 21). Defending her decision to remain in possession of her secret, Later in the poem, Rossetti uses internal rhyme to create a sense of fast movement when she joins the words ‘bounding’, ‘surrounding’ and ‘astounding’ (lines 15-16). She also uses it to emphasize the persistence of the ‘nipping’ and ‘clipping’ (line 17) effects of the winter wind.

5 of 7

The Convent Threshhold - Christina Rossetti

The female speaker (who may now be a voice beyond the grave) tells her lover that their (illicit?) relationship cannot continue and that she wishes to enter a purer life in a convent, as a precursor for entry to heaven. Meanwhile, her lover remains focussed on the physical joys of love. Mindful of the death and judgement which may be imminent for them both, the speaker urges her lover to repent as sincerely as she does – even the angels are aware of the extent of her grief. FORM - Written in the form of a dramatic monologue, The Convent Threshold employs several Gothic motifs such as depictions of bloodshed, dreams, visions Although theryhme scheme is irregular, it runs right through The Convent Threshold emphasising certain words, creating a song-like rythmnand increasing the pace at which the poem is read so as to draw attention to the urgent ttone of the speaker. SPOKE/BROKE highlighting the silence in which she spoke into etc. Notice that when she speaks with a sense of urgency, the metre changes to mirror her tone. For instance, after a series of lines written in iambic tetrameter, she cries, ‘Flee for your life, gird up your strength’ (line 39). By having a stress fall on the word ‘Flee’, she creates a trochee which draws attention to her heightened emotion! Langugae - Direct repetition and repetition with variation occur frequently in the poem, highlighting the passion with which the narrative unfolds. ASSONANCE The initial lines dramatically link ‘love’ (l.1) with ‘blood’(l.1-3) and ‘mud’ (l.6-7), symbolising the theme of sinful passion which is ‘scarlet’ and ‘soiled’ The speaker tells her lover that as, in her passion, she prayed for him to repent her ‘silence spoke / Like thunder’ (line 132-3). This ooxymoron conveys to the incredible power that she suggests silent pprayer has

6 of 7

Goblin Market - Christina Rossetti

Goblin Market focuses on the themes of temptations the goblins provide, against the themes of sisterhood, and possibly the underlying intentions of Rossetti trying to create men as dangerous, whom should be avoided A ‘ratel’ is a honey-badger. Their animal-like features highlight their base nature and their wild passions and desires. Like animals, they are unpredictable and as their attack on Lizzie demonstrates, have the potential to become ferocious. The fact that they are neither fully animal nor fully human emphasises the fact that they are unnatural and unrestrained.The irregular yet insistent rhyme carries the poem forwards. The poem contains numerous couplets which occur especially in its lists. This increases the speed at which the poem is read and creates a rushed and breathless feel. fruit of goblins/ goblins cry (couplets triplets)For the most part, the poem is written in loose iambic tetrametres. The iambic footis a rising metre and often speeds up the pace at which a poem is read. By composing such a long poem in this form, Rossetti emphasises the fast pace of the story she is telling and the passion that it involves.Come buy’ – the Goblins’ opening words echo a famous invitation in the Bible from God to his people:However, unlike the freedom of the biblical offer, the goblins are seeking to entrap those who accept their food.A ‘ratel’ is a honey-badger. Their animal-like features highlight their base nature and their wild passions and desires. Like animals, they are unpredictable and as their attack on Lizzie demonstrates, have the potential to become ferocious. The fact that they are neither fully animal nor fully human emphasises the fact that they are unnatural and unrestrained. Laura is seduced by the sound of the goblin men:‘She heard a voice like voice of doves Cooing all together’ Certain phrases, such as the merchants’ cry ‘Come buy, come buy’, are repeated throughout the poem. This highlights their insistence and the force of the temptation they offer.

7 of 7

Comments

noor

Report

Thank you so much for these! Amazing!

Emily Wootton

Report


Looks awesome - will hopefully help with my Rossetti revision! **

Similar English Literature resources:

See all English Literature resources »See all Christina Rossetti resources »