Rossetti – ‘Remember’
Examine the view that Christina Rossetti presents the speaker in this poem as having a selfless
attitude to love.
Rossetti’s Petrarchan sonnet highlights the narrator’s sacrifice of her personal desires in an
expression of true love. Her persistence is exaggerated through selfless acts, attempting to cushion
the harsh emotions of grief. One can argue this presents the greatest form of love, to prioritise her
beloved’s happiness. ‘Remember’ explores the impact of loss and death, and the mundane realities
that follow.
Within the first line of the poem, the readers are made aware that the narrator is dying - “when” she
has “gone away, / Gone far away”. The repetition of “gone” emphasises the distance that would
soon be between them, only exaggerating this further by adding the adjective “far”. Rossetti has
highlighted the distance the lovers would soon feel between them. However, she delivers this in a
calming tone, which emphasise the depths of her love. The narrator’s reference to “the silent land”
has strong connotations of heaven and life after death, presenting it as a peaceful and spiritual
“land” where the righteous can rest after their struggles on earth. This symbol of death is delivered
in a nonthreatening way, whereby death is something that shouldn’t be feared, but rather accepted.
Her acceptance with death reflects Rossetti’s devout religious beliefs, in which she highlights her
relationship with God - enveloped throughout many of her poems. The narrator’s attitude for love is
strongly reflected within the reference to her death. Referring to it in a calm and controlled manner
reassures her partner, further highlighting her selfless attitude towards him. The speaker manages
her lover’s sadness by cushioning the impact of her words, seen through the imperative “Only
remember me”, opposed to a harsher tone of “Remember me”. Furthermore, the alliteration, “hold
me by the hand”, softens the impact of the imperative “remember”, protecting her lover’s feelings
from the mundane reality of death and loss. The speaker’s control is mirrored throughout,
attempting to postpone her beloved’s grief and cushion the impact of her death. Control is further
emphasised through regularity of the iambic pentameter, in which she attempts to control his grief.
As the poem develops, the readers identify the volta which signals a shift in the narrator’s
perspective – “Yet if you should forget …”. Moreover, the internal rhyme identified through “Yet …
forget” draws attention to the shift in the volta, thus she has given up the need to be remembered.
This shift is reinforced by a replacement of “remember” with “forget”, which in turn, emphasises her
selfless attitude. This is followed by dark imagery of “darkness and corruption”, a more explicit
description of the realities that follow death. The carefully chosen adjectives expose the narrator’s
lover to grief and the sadness death brings, however, one could argue this is a selfless act in order to
prepare her partner for the hard times that follow. In addition, “darkness” and “corruption” could
refer to her lover’s grief. Thus, “darkness” is referring to the separation of death, and the feeling of
loss. Not to mention, “corruption” holding connotations of the physical decay of one’s body – a term
typically used in the Victorian era. After such grief has passed, her lover will be left with a “vestige”
of her “thoughts”, possessing only the memories she has left behind.
Towards the very last lines of ‘Remember’, Rossetti uses juxtaposition to highlight her selfless
nature. The stark contrast between “forget” and “remember” suggests the narrator will be content
with whatever her beloved chooses after her death – either to “smile” or feel “sad”. In this shift, the
narrator disposes of her own desires, and focusses purely on what would be best for her partner.
One could argue prioritising the happiness of her beloved is the greatest form of love, highlighting
her selfless attitude expressed throughout Rossetti’s poem.
