A document complied over two years with in depth analysis of all poems. Including detailed context on Rossetti’s life and family. Useful for essay planning and understanding the anthology
Christina Rossetti Context and Notes
Home Life and Childhood
Born in London to a literary and artistic family of Italian origin
She was educated at home
Father was a political refugee and a scholar/professor, her mother was
baptised as a protestant, and she was the epitome of a good Victorian wife –
she devoted her life to raising her 4 children
Christina's mother was stricter with the children than her husband who had
some unorthodox views
Christina witnessed many familial differences between Catholic and Anglica
religion – which left an impression on her as a young child
The family also spoke Italian
Her sister, Maria, was extremely devout, her life surrounding prayer and acts
of service, she eventually became a nun
Her brother, Gabriel/Dante, had artistic expression and was trained as an
artist
Christina was often singled out as having a special quality by adults – this
continued into her adulthood as she was often described as watchful,
thoughtful and wistful
Rossetti underwent a change between the of 1842 and 1847 – her brother
wrote that she was once happy and fascinated as a child, however due to
financial anxiety and ill-health, her character became colder, reserved and
more restricted/’sealed’
Due to her education at home from her mother – Christina was never
introduced to any outside influences
Christina did not fit typical Victorian expectations for women (that they are
meek and submissive), as she was by nature, rebellious and free-spirited
Christina once told her nieces that she cut herself in a ‘fit of passion’ after
she was reprimanded by her mother
Christina often repressed her anger and told nieces she learnt how to control
it become calm
Christina felt the struggles of her family's financial troubles, having seen the
toll it had on her mother in particular
Rev. William Dodsworth had a huge influence on Christina – this is when
she became increasingly Anglican
, She suffered with anaemia, heart problems and from a modern lens
potentially acute anxiety
Some of her symptoms in terms of ill-health were suggested to be
psychosomatic and part of a physical manifestation of an emotional disorder
Christina’s frailty and ill-health helped her escape education and this left her
free to write poetry and occupy her mind with whatever she liked
She never married
Both her and her mother converted to the ‘Tractarian’ or ‘Oxford’ movement
which represented a conversion from an evangelical position to an Anglo-
Catholic orientation
She was proposed to 3 times – she was engaged to James Collinson but
ended after he converted to Catholicism – she was also engaged to Charles
Cayley but this also failed due to religious areas
Christina stayed and cared for her father when her mother and sister went to
work to combat their money troubles as a result of her fathers ill-health
Christina later suffered with Graves’ disease (a thyroid condition)
In her later life the women’s suffrage movement began gaining popularity
and Christina did not support it
Her writings and works
Several of her poems were published under a pseudonym
Was a devout Anglican
Much of her writing has a religious theme containing a strong sense of
spiritual learning and melancholy
Christina’s poetry is often inward looking – supplying imagery of reflection
Her poems were often gothic, mythical/ fairy tale-like, romantic and biblical
She was fascinated with metrical innovations – experimenting with half-
rhyme and end-rhyme
Christina could be playful and witty in her poetry too
Her earlier teenage poetry is the least religious at these times
Vanity is often referenced in her work to explore the allure of dangerous
influences in the world
Her later life
Her condition changed her appearance and damaged her heart
She remained close with her family
Her siblings died before her
, Her brother William organised and published Christina’s work
She died in 1894 from breast cancer
Almost all of Christina’s popularity occurred posthumously
The Victorian Period
The population grew enormously – Christina would have noticed the growth
in London population
The rail network began construction in the 1830s and finished shortly after
Christina’s death
British Empire
Factories and industrialisation
Christina recognised the country’s obsession with wealth and power and felt
the country’s focus on this was a dangerous ‘vanity’
The idea of the Fallen Woman
Christina did withdraw from much of society – however, engaged with some
unlikely groups of people
She volunteered to help with district nursing work during the Crimean war
She also volunteered at the St Mary Magdalene Penitentiary (prison), which
worked with fallen women – e.g. anyone who had sex outside of marriage,
prostitutes etc
Victorian ideas about prostitution and sex are common in her work
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a huge step in her life
The pre-Raphaelite brotherhood was a group formed by poets, painters etc
who aimed to make the creation and teachings of art to be free and
unconventional – taking inspiration from nature and romanticism- they
typically featured idealised and beautifully detailed women
Painter Raphael was their primary and only influence
Poetry themes
Gender and sexuality
Acceptance of death
Renunciation / refusal of desire
Divine love
The sublime
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