Rossetti summaries and quotes

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  • Created by: wika0821
  • Created on: 21-06-21 15:06
Song: When I am dead, my dearest
Summary
The speaker is giving their loved ones instructions about what they are to do once they die. They want to go quietly and not be mourned, the poem also explores their coming to terms with their own death.
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Song: When I am dead, my dearest
Quotes
"When I am dead, my dearest,"
"Sing no sad songs... plant thou no roses..."
"And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget."
2 of 28
Remember
Summary
The speaker is leaving more instructions as to what their loved one should do once they die, they show indifference towards them. The speaker accepts their death and that they may be forgotten.
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Remember
Quotes
"Gone far away into the silent land;"
"Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay."
"Better by far you should forget and smile"
"And afterwards remember, do not grieve:"
4 of 28
From the Antique
Summary
The poem details the plight of all Victorian women, no matter their class. It explores the universal experiences of all women.
It shows the fundamental differences between the genders in the eyes of society.
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From the Antique
Quotes
"It's a weary life, it is, she said:"
"I wish and I wish I were a man: / Or, better then any being, were not:"
"Not so much as a grain of dust / Or a drop of water from pole to pole."
6 of 28
Shut out
Summary
The speaker laments that they are locked out of paradise. The guard builds a brick wall to block their view of it. They saw a budding bed of flowers which brought her comfort but could not compare.
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Shut out
Quotes
"My garden, mine, beneath the sky,"
"From flower to flower the moths and bees;"
"Mortar and stone to build a wall;"
"A violet bed is budding near, / Wherein a lark has made her nest:"
8 of 28
In the Round Tower at Jhansi
Summary
The poem commemorates the Indian uprising that massacred British colonists. They stand on the tower and decide to take their lives instead of letting the revolt kill them. The narrator asks God to forgive them for this action.
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In the Round Tower at Jhansi
Quotes
"The swarming howling wretches below"
"Young, strong, and so full of life,"
"God forgive them this!"
" I wish I could bear the pang for both. / I wish I could bear the pang alone:"
10 of 28
A Birthday
Summary
A narrator expresses their happiness about their love's upcoming birthday.

They compare their heart to several things in nature, e.g a singing bird.

They end the poem by joyfully exclaiming that their love's birthday has arrived.
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A Birthday
Quotes
"My heart is like a singing bird"
"My heart is like a rainbow shell"
"Hang it with vair and purple dyes; Carve / it in doves and pomegranates, And peacocks"
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Maude Clare
Summary
The poem talks about the story of Maude Clare and Nell. They are both in love with Sir Thomas and he had chosen to marry Nell. On the day of the wedding, Maude came with wedding gifts, these were their gifts.
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Maude Clare
Quotes
"Maude Clare was like a queen."
"To bless the hearth, to bless the board, To bless the marriage-bed."
"Yea, though you’re taller by the head, More wise and much more fair: I’ll love him till he loves me best"
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Up-Hill
Summary
The narrator asks a guide eight questions about the road ahead of them. They ask if the road is uphill and if the journey will take all day, the guide replied yes. They asked if they will have a place to rest, the guide replied yes, etc.
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Up-Hill
Quotes
"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?"
"Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?"
"Will there be beds for me and all those who seek? Yes, beds for all who come."
16 of 28
No, Thank you, John
Summary
The poem is an autobiographical piece that could be rejecting the proposal of John. An alternative interpretation (due to the vague name) states that it may be a criticism of the societal expectation for a woman to submit to a man's wishes.
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No, Thank you, John
Quotes
"With always "do" and "pray"?"
"Why will you haunt me with a face as wan As shows an hour-old ghost?"
"I dare say Meg or Moll would take Pity upon you, if you'd ask:"
"Song-birds of passage, days of youth:"
18 of 28
Good Friday
Summary
This is a devotional poem that conveys the speaker's desire to partake in Christianity. However, they are not ready to adopt the religion until Jesus comes down and guides them the way a shepherd would guide a sheep.
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Good Friday
Quotes
"Am I a stone and not a sheep"
"To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss, And yet not weep?"
"Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;"
"Greater than Moses, turn and look once more And smite a rock."
20 of 28
Goblin Market
Summary
Laura bought the Goblin men's fruit with a lock of her hair. After eating it, she began to waste away. Lizzie goes to the market to look for a cure, the men tempt her but she resists. She saves Lizzie.
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Goblin Market
Quotes
" Laura, Laura, / You should not peep at goblin men"
"Buy from us with a golden curl."
"Dear, you should not stay so late, / Twilight is not good for maidens."
"“For there is no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather;"
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Twice
Summary
The speaker offered her heart to her lover.
He did not accept it. / He did not believe that she was ready to commit. / He was not ready to commit.
Her heart breaks and she brings it to God.
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Twice
Quotes
"Yet a woman's words are weak: You should speak, not I."
"Then set it down, And said: It is still unripe,
Better wait awhile;"
" Broke, but I did not wince; I smiled"
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Winter: My Secret
Summary
The speaker is taunting and playing with the listener who is pleading to hear the secret- it can only be revealed at the right time which evidently is not during the winter season. The poem avoids a clear meaning, the interocular remains silent.
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Winter: My Secret
Quotes
"Today’s a nipping day, a biting day;"
"A veil, a cloak, and other wraps: I cannot ope to everyone who taps,"
"Spring’s an expansive time: yet I don’t trust"
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Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde
Summary
The poem depicts the persona of Sister Louise in the form of a dramatic dialogue. She feels conflicted and is tormented by desire and longing. She has wasted her life and feels conflicted about her sins, she questions what is the point of her life.
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Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde
Quotes
"But now the days are over of desire, Now dust and dying embers mock my fire;"
"Longing and love, pangs of a perished pleasure, Longing and love, a disenkindled fire,"
"Oh vanity of vanities, desire!"
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

"When I am dead, my dearest,"
"Sing no sad songs... plant thou no roses..."
"And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget."

Back

Song: When I am dead, my dearest
Quotes

Card 3

Front

The speaker is leaving more instructions as to what their loved one should do once they die, they show indifference towards them. The speaker accepts their death and that they may be forgotten.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

"Gone far away into the silent land;"
"Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay."
"Better by far you should forget and smile"
"And afterwards remember, do not grieve:"

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The poem details the plight of all Victorian women, no matter their class. It explores the universal experiences of all women.
It shows the fundamental differences between the genders in the eyes of society.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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