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Christina Rossetti Essay Plans
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A collection of essay plans covering all possible topics on Christina Rossetti poetry, for the A-level poetry exam.
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CHRISTINA ROSSETTI ESSAYPLANS
DEATH AND LOSS
OUR MOTHERS AND ECHO
MEANING
Both poems explore the existential question of the afterlife, creating a bittersweet tone
in response to death as both retain this idea of death being a form of paradise
Echo- ambiguous portrayal of loss which could be considered either literal or
metaphorical loss of love to be retained in the afterlife
Our mothers- a more expansive view of loss, the expectations a Christian
woman may have to reach heaven.
FORM/STRUCTURE
Structure in the case of both poems reflects a transcendence to heaven but also amplify
the emotions associated with loss
Echo:
Personal connection with a loved one
Regular rhyme scheme- an easy transition (perhaps transience with a loved
one)
Parallelisms in language- a lost connection between two people
Use of sound- hushing ‘s’ sounds create literal echoes
‘Watch the slow door’- short line connotes a physical shutting of the door
between life and death.
Our mothers:
The legacy that Christian women leave as they die
Collective pronoun ‘our’ establishes a broad message
Petrarchan sonnet form- equal division into octave and sestet, establishes
problem and solution; women should remain stoic in life to enjoy paradise
Structural weight- this could imply the weight on the speaker’s shoulders/ a
sense of pressure
Ambiguity- ‘whether or not you bear to look on me’
LANGUAGE
Echo:
Bittersweet consideration of the afterlife with underlying connotations of regret
Cherub-like imagery- ‘soft rounded cheeks’ in which ‘soft’ holds a certain
delicacy
, Soft sounds- ‘speaking silence of a dream’ sounds as an intangible whisper
Our Mothers:
Biblical imagery- ‘the lord will wipe our tears away’ salvation found in god
Imperatives- ‘learn’ ‘work’ encourage passivity
Juxtaposition- ‘confident in dule’ – the extremes to which a woman must go to
reach the afterlife
CONTEXT
Loss of Charles Cayley- romantic
Loss of her father- non romantic
Rossetti’s non-feminist views
‘The lord will wipe our tears away’- a reference to Isaiah
Victorian ideas of death and mourning
MEMORY AND MAY
MEANING
Both poems use ambiguity to imply loss of a loved one either metaphorically or literally
Memory- Rossetti presents a speakers feeling of loss through choice, however the loss
implies rejecting a ‘false’ idol such as earthly love in favor of heavenly redemption
May- Rossetti presents a speaker feeling of loss as something is removed from their life
or taken away from them
STRUCTURE/FORM
Memory:
Mixed presentation of loss- unlike many of Rossetti’s poems a decision to renounce
earthly love does not seem to come with ease for the speaker
Structural division in time- ‘sea- change’ a sense of mourning in a sense other
than death
Change in pace- First stanza with more pauses and longer clauses, appearing
sombre and slow-feeling. Second half shows increased pace, with more
frequented use of caesura, appearing joyous.
Iambic pentameter- suggestion of natural speech, personal and truthful
Trimester- in the final line of stanza 1 appears unnatural along with the used of
the end-stopped line, suggesting repressed emotion.
Repetition of ‘alone’- ingrained sense of isolation
May:
Truncated Sonnet- Octave and sestet with Volta like change suggesting a
transient shift, leaving ‘it’ behind in May.
Fruitful imagery shifts to negative language- as May and ‘it’ are left behind
Rhyme scheme deviates- couplets, triplets and half-rhyme scheme. Connotes
the negative effect of personal loss on the speaker.
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