Christina Rossetti – “Remember” (Lecture Review)

These flashcards review key lines, themes, tone shifts, and literary devices in Christina Rossetti’s sonnet “Remember,” preparing students for exam questions on interpretation and analysis.

What poetic form is Rossetti’s “Remember” written in?

A Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet.

Who is the speaker addressing throughout the poem?

Her beloved (lover/fiancé).

What central request does the speaker make of her beloved in the octave?

That he remember her after her death.

How does the speaker’s request change in the sestet?

She gives him permission to forget her if remembering causes him sadness.

Which single word is repeatedly used to emphasize the speaker’s plea and fear?

“Remember.”

What is meant by the phrase “gone away” in line 1?

It is a euphemism for death, softening its impact.

What Christian metaphor is contained in the phrase “into the silent land”?

The afterlife, depicted as a peaceful yet wordless realm where communication is impossible.

Why is the image of holding hands in line 3 significant?

It symbolizes physical love that will be impossible once she is dead, heightening her fear of being forgotten.

Explain the internal conflict expressed in line 4 (“Yet turning stay”).

The speaker is torn between accepting death and wanting to remain with her beloved.

What does “day by day” (line 5) emphasize about her desired remembrance?

She wants to be remembered continually, not just during a brief mourning period.

Which line explicitly shows the couple had planned a shared future?

“You tell me of our future that you planned.” (line 6)

Why does the speaker say “Only remember me” in line 7?

It underscores her anxiety that her beloved might move on and forget her.

What two actions in line 8, ‘pray’ and ‘counsel,’ become ‘useless’ after death and why?

Because once she is dead, neither advice nor prayers can alter her fate.

What tonal shift is signaled by the word “Yet” at the start of line 9?

A move from insistent remembrance to acceptance that forgetting may happen.

How does line 10 (“And afterwards remember, do not grieve”) console the beloved?

It assures him that occasional forgetfulness is natural and he needn’t feel guilty.

Identify the euphemism for death used in line 11.

“Darkness.”

What may the word “corruption” in line 11 refer to?

The illness that killed her or the grief that his life will face without her.

Define “vestige” as it is used in line 12.

A faint trace or small remaining part of her memory or past thoughts.

Quote the line that shows the speaker prefers her beloved’s happiness over her memory.

“Better by far you should forget and smile, / Than that you should remember and be sad.”

Name two major themes of the poem.

Death and the tension between remembering and letting go (grief/mourning).

List three tones present in the poem.

Melancholy, consoling, and selfless/accepting.

Why can the speaker be described as ‘self-sacrificing’?

She relinquishes her own desire to be remembered so that her beloved may live happily.

What literary device is illustrated by the contrast in lines 13–14 (forget & smile / remember & be sad)?

Antithesis, highlighting the choice between joy and sorrow.

Explain how repetition strengthens the poem’s message.

The repeated “remember” mimics the speaker’s fear of being forgotten and stresses the importance of memory.

How does the initial command “Remember me” set the poem’s mood?

It establishes a beseeching, somber mood focused on impending loss.

In the context of Victorian gender roles, what does “you planned” (line 6) subtly indicate?

That the male partner traditionally directed future plans, though she may still have had influence.

What does the phrase “the silent land” reveal about the speaker’s acceptance of death?

She views death as a certain, peaceful realm where worldly communication ceases.

Give one reason the speaker’s string of commands might sound ‘beseeching’ rather than ‘authoritative.’

They stem from vulnerability and fear of being forgotten, not from power.

Which two conflicting desires create the poem’s central tension?

The wish to be permanently remembered and the wish for her beloved’s unhindered happiness.

Summarize the poem’s concluding moral in one sentence.

True love may require self-sacrifice, even the sacrifice of one’s own memory, to spare the beloved pain.