A Helpmeet For Him by Christina Rossetti

Edexcel English Literature A Level Poetry Christina Rossetti

Form

Roundel

11 lines in 3 stanzas

* Contrasts between the cyclical nature of roundels and the ever-changing descriptions of women
* Embodies the way that one specific idea can be explored in other viewpoints

‘Helpmeet’ meaning

A compassionate and helpful wife

Link to Genesis 2:18

‘And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him’

* This intertextuality shows Rossetti’s criticism of the sexist views portrayed within the Bible (women were made FOR men)
* Also shows her proficiency in knowledge of the bible, as she references it and utilises archaic language that would have been used in the holy text

‘ Woman was made for man’s delight;

Charm, O woman, be not afr*ai*d!

His shadow by day, his moon by night,

(R) Woman was m*ade*.’

(R) is the refrain

* The contrast between ‘Woman’ and ‘Man’ shows that the genders are antithetic, rather than complimentary of each other
* Assonance of ‘afraid’ and ‘made’
* ‘Charm’ is frowned upon by the bible- women are portrayed negatively in the bible ?
* Juxtaposition of ‘day’ and ‘night’ is symbolic of the contrast between men and women
* ‘Charm, O woman, be not afraid’- This line consists of 2 imperatives and shows women as submissive, as the archaic ‘o’ and creates an atmosphere of divine authority
* Repetition of possessive article ‘woman’ ‘man;- reaffirms the submissive role of the women

‘ Her strength with weakness is overlaid;

Meek compliances veil her might;

Him she stays, by whom she is stayed’

* Polyptoton of ‘stays’ and ‘stayed’ might mirror how woman was made out of man, or how there is potentially equality between the sexes
* ‘Veil’- potential link to modesty
* Juxtaposition of ‘strength’, ‘weakness’ and then ‘meek’ and ‘might’, shows women as dual and complex characters
* Assonance ‘overl__ai__d’ and ‘st__ay__ed’
* This stanza depicts a more equal relationship between man and woman

‘World-wide champion of truth and right,

Hope in gloom and in danger aid,

Tender and faithful, ruddy and white,

(R) Woman was made.’

* (R) repetition emphasises women’s position
* ‘W’ alliteration- adds to the rhythm of the poem
* ‘Tender and faithful, ruddy and white’ the first clause shows the desired qualities in women, and ‘ruddy’ and ‘white’ are terms used to describe Christ in the Song of Solomon. The intertextuality contradicts the first stanza
* Lack of enjambment in the refrain adds a factual tone to the statement
* This stanza has a feminist tone, as there is no male presence- this may show that these stanzas are an exploration of her conflicting views surrounfing God and gender

Effect of monosyllabic language

Blunt and factual

Dual rhyme scheme and alternating line lengths

Rhythmic embodiment of the 2 sexes, as equal

Narrative voice

The narrative voice grows in strength throughout the poem, and is symbolic of changing attitudes and gender roles

Context

This poem was written on request by the editor of the Anglican Church magazine, who requested her to speak out against female suffrage. Rossetti had complex views on the interaction between religion and feminism- as she also had signed an anti-suffrage petition in 1888