MAIN THEMES/CONTEXT

Adam and Eve allusions

• Dominant metaphor of fruit as a symbol of temptation and premature self-indulgence  

• The apple, laden with biblical and symbolic connotations, becomes a synecdoche for innocence lost, and Eve’s punishment endured - alluding to the traditional discourse of forbidden fruit, and in effect, becoming a re-enactment of The Fall of Man in Genesis. This aligns with Rossetti’s Anglo-Catholic sensibilities, which often focuses on spiritual discipline and temptation. Here, Rossetti reconfigures Eve’s transgression and subsequent suffering into a cautionary mediation on female desire and judgement from a Victorian society – depicting women who have lost not only love but also societal standing.  

• Prevalence of the Femme Fatale in literature: a female temptress or seductress, who encourages temptation in men, and ultimately causes distress or disaster to those involved with her 

Fallen woman

• Relations outside marriage detracted from a woman’s worth, but not the man’s 

• The Fallen Woman, deemed unworthy by society as a result of sexual depravity outside marriage, was a popular figure in Victorian culture and poetry. The poet laureate of the time, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, explored the subject in poems such as ‘Mariana’ - however this was recounted from the perspective of an omniscient narrator. (by giving the fallen women voice, Rossetti challenges Victorian society’s outlook on women who step outside their predetermined roles)

• In 1859 Rossetti had started volunteering at the St Mary Magdalene Penitentiary in Highgate, which tried to rehabilitate and provide refuge to ‘fallen women’, as a euphemism for prostitutes. Rossetti was a zealot, and firmly believed that whilst the women has sinned in this life, through repent there existed the possibility for them to be saved in the afterlife.

Sonnet form

• Rossetti’s Italian heritage can be detected in her English poems – particularly in the sonnets, which are almost exclusively Petrarchan in form. Petrarchan sonnets are divided into two sections: the first octave and the final sestet, with the volta occurring around line 9. The octave is different in character to the sestet 

• Rossetti takes advantage of the Petrarchan sonnet form in terms of the volta, allowing her to mirror emotional or moral shifts

• The sonnet’s tight form forces economy of expression, and the exploration of vast themes in just 14 lines. This mirrors the Victorian imposition of restraint and propriety, especially for women. Rossetti’s use of formal constraints often intensifies the emotional weight of her poetry, reflecting the Victorian conflict between external conformity and internal desire

• Rossetti, a devout Anglo-Catholic, was influenced by Tractarianism, which emphasised inner spiritual life and sacrifice. Her use of the sonnet aligns with Christian contemplation, echoing the tradition of mediative verse by poets like Donne and Herbert

Rossetti’s religion

• Christian symbols permeate the poem, likely derived from Rossetti’s own devout faith within a pious Christian society  

• Regularity of each stanza and line length indicates this is not uncontrolled passion, but rather controlled, joyous solace and contentment. Feelings of fulfilment and security are heightened by the use of natural imagery to represent her spiritual rebirth as natural and pure 

• Like most Victorians, Rossetti had a strong belief in the after-life, seeing life’s struggles on earth as preparation for reward in heaven

• Christian piety was the norm of everyday life during the Victorian era, so Rossetti’s commitment to her religion in her own life should not be understated: much of her poetry is of a devotional nature, showing a deep affection for God and her Anglican faith. 

Pre-Raphaelite

• This celebration of beauty and sensory richness aligns with Pre-Raphaelite ideals of art and poetry, utilising rich visual and decorative imagery. (The Pre-Raphaelite Movement, which emerged in the mid-19^th century, was a revolutionary artistic and literary movement that sought to challenge the conventions of the Victorian era. It aimed to capture the intensity of emotions and embracing the spiritual depth of their subjects - led by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina’s brother. Christina Rossetti’s poetry therefore reflects these Pre-Raphaelite sensibilities) 

• This bears weight to the Pre-Raphaelite fascination with decay within beauty, and their interest in detailed botanical imagery 

Stoicism in society

• Rossetti constructs a critique of how Victorian society valued social propriety over authentic emotional connection – exploring the conflicts between passion, morality and societal duty 

Ballad form

• Rossetti draws on the ballad form’s traditional role as a storytelling device or allegorical fable to convey moral lessons. The ballad is an oral tradition, which gives it a musical pattern that creates a lyrical but conventional and comforting frame

• The regular rhythm and rhyme of the ballad form imbues her poems with a sense of order and control. This mirrors the Victorian imposition of restraint and propriety, especially for women. Rossetti’s use of formal constraints often intensifies the emotional weight of her poetry, reflecting the Victorian conflict between external conformity and internal desire

Romantic vs divine love

• Victorian poetry often blurs the line between romantic and divine love

• Privilege commitment to the divine over the vicissitudes of human relationships. Inscribes the paradox at the heart of Christian belief: one becomes free only by submitting to God.

• This paradox therefore reveals her contradiction between innocent romantic love and sinful erotic desire 

View of women

• Rossetti explores how Victorian ideals of femininity centred around motherhood at its nexus, yet paradoxically punished women associated with procreation outside of marriage. In several of her poems, the speaker is mocked or ostracised as a result of this public stigma

• Restrictive image of the ‘Angel in the House’ idealisation of women, as the epitome of the Victorian perception of gender

• Many of Rossetti’s poems present a central paradox, where women are morally judged by both religious doctrine and social convention. Rossetti critiques not only the biblical notions of female culpability, but also Victorian ideals of womanhood, despite rejecting the label of ‘feminist’

• As a devout Anglo-Catholic, she refused to join the women’s suffrage movement, instead advocating for spiritual redemption and renunciation over political action

Romantic poetry

Romantic poetry was largely built on the tenement of ‘Memento Mori’, and the acknowledgment of inevitable death – focussing on death as a journey, or a passageway that was intrinsically valuable. Rossetti’s imagery of ‘silent land’ and ‘gone away’ implies such a spiritual journey