15 Christina Rossetti poems summarised by theme, ideas, thoughts and attitudes, relevant context and links (similarities and differences) to other poems - includes: 'From the Antique', 'Winter: My Secret', 'Goblin Market', 'A Birthday', 'Remember', 'Twice', 'Maude Clare', 'Echo', 'No Thank You John...
Poem Themes, Ideas, Relevant Context Links to other poems
Thoughts, Attitudes (remember these can be
similarities or
differences)
From the Antique - Depression - Women not recognised under - Shut Out – same sense of
- Struggles of womanhood the law listlessness and isolation
- Meaninglessness of life - Fallen women and sexual - Soeur Louise de la Misèricorde –
- Loneliness double standards ideas of sexual double
- Natural imagery - Victorian gender roles standards and womanly
- Rossetti’s depression struggles
- Song (‘When I am dead, my
dearest’) and Echo – same
negative perception of life
- A Birthday – contrasting
empowered and extremely
joyful and hopeful persona
- ‘No Thank You John’ and Maude
Clare – empowered female
personas, seemingly stronger
than their male counterparts
Goblin Market - Men as malevolent - Fallen women and sexual - ‘No Thank You John’ –
- Female solidarity/sisterhood double standards empowered female persona,
- Female eroticism - Marriage market denying male counterpart (like
- Temptation and fallen women - Victorian gender roles Lizzie)
- Innocence/chastity - Rossetti’s choice not to marry - Maude Clare – similar ideas of
- Salvation and sacrifice - Rossetti’s religion desire and fallen women but
- Sin and redemption - Rossetti’s contrasting relationship
- Female empowerment sister/sister-in-law/time at between female characters
- Addiction/greed Highgate Penitentiary - Soeur Louise de la Misèricorde –
- Capitalism - Growing capitalism and ideas of sexual double
- Natural imagery exploitation in the marketplace standards/fallen women and
, desire being sinful
- Twice – men as malevolent
- Shut Out – men as malevolent
and isolation in society as fallen
woman
- In the Round Tower at Jhansi –
contrasting good relationship
between men and women
Winter: My Secret - Empowered speaker - Women not recognised under - ‘No Thank You John’ and Maude
- Secretiveness the law/property law Clare – empowered female
- Taunting reader - Victorian gender roles personas and taunting/teasing
- Protectiveness - Rossetti’s piousness natures/ideas of power – ‘NTYJ’
- Safety - Fallen women also structured similarly – an
- Trust address and denying something
- Deceit - Goblin Market – deceit, safety
- Uncertainty and protection
- Playful - In the Round Tower at Jhansi –
- Power contrasting sense of trust
- Chastity - Shut Out – sense of ownership
- Natural imagery/seasons with pronoun ‘my’
A Birthday - Religion as positive - Rossetti’s religion - Good Friday, Shut Out,
- Biblical imagery (GoE) - Rossetti’s depression Remember, Echo and Song
- Finding God/yourself (‘When am I dead, my dearest’)
- Empowered speaker – contrasting doubt and
- Joy/celebration negativity surrounding religion
- Royalty/the divine - Twice, Soeur Louise de la
- Pre-Raphaelite imagery Misèricorde and Uphill –
religion being a solace from
earthly struggles
Remember - Love – Petrarchan sonnet - Rossetti’s religion and fear of - Good Friday, Shut Out, Echo and
- Memory hell when on her deathbed Song (‘When am I dead, my
- Death/grief - Rossetti’s depression dearest’) – doubt and negativity
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