Christina Georgina Rossetti Song Teachable and Mary Sharples

Christina Georgina Rossetti Song © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Biography • Rossetti was born in London and educated at home by her mother. • In the 1840 s, her family was stricken with severe financial difficulties due to the deterioration of her father's physical and mental health. • When she was 14, Rossetti suffered a nervous breakdown and left school. • This was followed by bouts of depression and related illness. During this period she, her mother, and her sister became seriously interested in religion and the Church of England. • Marsh notes, "she was opposed to war, slavery (in the American South), cruelty to animals (in the prevalent practice of animal experimentation), the exploitation of girls in under-age prostitution and all forms of military aggression. " © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Biography • In the later decades of her life, Rossetti suffered from Graves Disease. In 1893 she developed cancer, and died the following year, on 29 December 1894; she is buried in Highgate Cemetery. • In the early 20 th Century, Rossetti's popularity faded and she remained largely unnoticed and unread until the 1970 s, when feminist scholars began to recover and comment on her work. • In the last few decades, Rossetti's writing has been rediscovered and she has regained admittance into the Victorian literary canon. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Relevant Context – Pre-Raphaelite Women • Sentimentalized depictions of the tragic death of women occupied many Pre-Raphaelite poems and paintings. • Many of these place women at the mercy of the men in their lives. These works come from a male vantage point. Christina Rossetti provides a unique answer to these works in her poem, "Song". • In this poem, Rossetti voices the inner thoughts of a dead Victorian woman. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Discussion Read the poem - SONG In groups discuss… What are the woman’s feelings about being separated from her lover? © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Analysis For each of the points below, find a quotation from the poem as evidence for the analysis (and apply the appropriate terminology)… 1. 2. 3. 4. The woman in the poem seems to feel no pain or loss at being separated from her lover, but only peace. She asks her lover not to mourn her. She asks him to continue to live his life without her and not to waste his time in grief. She does not pine for her lover; she states that she might actually forget him altogether in time. "Song", exposes the inadequacy of earthly love when compared with the peace and fulfilment experienced by the woman upon death. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Imperatives Parallel Structure Repetition of (archaic form of) Modal verb Dynamic Verb Repetition of adverbial of manner When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree. Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on as if in pain. And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply may forget. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546 Adverbial of place Alliterative premodified noun phrase Antithesis What other features can you annotate on here? Repetition of Modal verb Antithesis

More Analysis – from www. victorianweb. org • The first half of the poem appears to reflect the P-R idealized notion of women who pine for their beloveds, as the female narrator begs her lover not to be distressed by her death. • The lines — "And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget" is not to ask her beloved to stop mourning her death in an attempt to embody "the Victorian view of female selflessness" (Landow). • It instead invokes feelings of growing indifference towards her partner - the woman seems to feel a sense of happiness in her inability to remember her beloved. • "haply" can be interpreted as either "possibly" or a shortened version of the word "happily. " This wordplay also helps destroy the feminine ideal as portrayed by Pre -Raphaelites that the woman perhaps realizes contentment and peace while without her beloved. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Comparative Task Read (and listen to) the lyrics to Elton John’s ‘The Letter’ from Billy Elliot… You. Tube - Billy Elliot - The Letter What similarities and differences can you draw with themes of Rossetti’s poem? Annotate the song lyrics, looking for techniques which provide evidence for your arguments. © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546

Dear Billy, I must seem a distant memory Which is probably a good thing And it will have been a long, long time And I will have missed you growing And I'll have missed you crying And I'll have missed you laugh Missed your stamping and your shouting I have missed telling you off But please, Billy, know that I was always there I was with you through everything And please, Billy, know that I will always be Proud to have known you Proud that you were mine Proud in everything And you must promise me this, Billy In everything you do Always be yourself, Billy And you always will be true Love you forever Mam © Teachable and Mary Sharples. Some rights reserved. http: //teachable. net/res. asp? r=2546