Rossetti Quotes

‘When I am dead, my dearest; / __________________’

When I am dead, my dearest

‘When I am dead, my dearest; / Sing no sad songs for me’: The speaker is very deterministic as she begs to not be mourned when she dies. Here, Rossetti is rebelling against the Victorian norms of grief, as popularised by Queen Victoria’s 40 year mourning period of her late husband, Prince Albert.

‘And __________, remember/forget’

When I am dead, my dearest

‘And if thou wilt, remember/forget’: Rossetti uses the conditional tense (‘if’) to communicate that the speaker does not mind whether she is forgotten or remembered.

‘_________ see/feel/hear’

When I am dead, my dearest

‘I shall not see/feel/hear’: The use of sensory description emphasises how death is an absolute end, showing a very existentialist/nihilistic viewpoint.

‘When I am gone away; / ____________________________’

Remember

‘When I am gone away; / Gone far away into the silent land’: Rossetti uses euphemistic language to communicate the idea of death. This is potentially symbolic of death having power over humans, as the speaker does not face it head-on.

‘You tell me _________________________’

Remember

‘You tell me of our future that you plann’d’: The speaker is submissive to her lover, as it seems she had no say in their future, reflecting Victorian patriarchal society.

‘___________ you should forget and smile’

Remember

‘Better by far you should forget and smile’: This encapsulates the message of the poem that you do not need to feel guilty if you forget about someone.

‘Why will you _______, day by day’

No, Thank You, John

‘Why will you tease me, day by day’: The idea of the man teasing is a gender role reversal as he is the one tempting and annoying the woman, acting like a child. Here, Rossetti is agreeing with the courtly love idea that women are more dominant.

‘_____________________, John’

No, Thank You, John

‘You know I never loved you, John’: This displays a blunt denial of a man’s love for a woman. Rossetti does this to patronise John as if he has asked many times and refuses to accept the denial.

‘Let us strike hands as _____________’

No, Thank You, John

‘Let us strike hands as hearty friends’: The speaker decreases her authority a little which can be interpreted as her attempt to find a common ground with John - this seems to be a friendship.

‘His bride was like a ___________’ & ‘Maude Clare was like a _____’

Maude Clare

‘His bride was like a village maid’ & ‘Maude Clare was like a queen’: Nell is depicted as being a ‘village maid’, implying she is of lower status. Furthermore, ‘maid’ suggests she is a virgin, which would make her more valuable than Maude Clare. Although Maude Clare is ‘like a queen’ and, by comparing the two, Rossetti is mimicking the tension between them.

‘Pale with _____’

Maude Clare

‘Pale with pride’: Pale was considered beautiful during the Victorian era however, Nell is potentially ‘pale’ as a result of knowing Maude Clare is there, the ex-lover of her soon-to-be husband, Thomas. The mention of ‘pride’ is perhaps another reference to her class as, by marrying a ‘lord’, Nell is securing herself in society.

‘The ______ are budding now’

Maude Clare

‘The lilies are budding now’: Rossetti is perhaps using this sexual innuendo to suggest a pre-marital affair and humiliate Thomas, similar to how women were condemned in the Victorian era for being ‘fallen’.

‘More ____ and much more ____’

Maude Clare

‘More wise and much more fair’: Rossetti is implying that intelligence and beauty are the most important traits in women, contradicting the Victorian belief that loyalty was the most important. This ultimately means that in the Victorian era, Nell would most likely be favoured however, in the modern context, Maude Clare is more likely to be favoured.

‘________, _______ wretches’

In the Round Tower at Jhansi

‘Swarming, howling wretches’: These words used to describe the Indian rebels are quite derogatory and would be of concern to postcolonial theorists as the rebels are very clearly being dehumanised.

‘I wish I could __________________’

In the Round Tower at Jhansi

‘I wish I could bear the pang for both’: Both are relying on the social construct of their marriage for comfort in this unfortunate situation. In addition to this, Skene has taken the stereotypical role of the protector seems as he is the man.

‘“____ by”. “____ by”’

In the Round Tower at Jhansi

‘“Good by”. “Good by”’: The pair equally bidding their farewells parallels the idea that death is a great equaliser. Here, Rossetti is ultimately overcoming the gender divide between Skene and his wife that has been a recurring theme throughout the poem.

‘Pricking up her __________’

Goblin Market

‘Pricking up her golden head’: Laura is instantly established as being more vulnerable than her sister, Lizzie, as she shows interest in the goblin men’s fruits. Additionally, ‘golden’ has connotations of value, perhaps alluding to the goblin men’s desire to destroy the purity she holds as a young chaste girl. Lizzie, in contrast, resists the goblin men’s temptations, saying ‘no, no, no’.

‘Kind and ___________’

Goblin Market

‘Kind and full of loves’: The temptation of the goblin men’s cries and produce is explored here. The goblin men can be interpreted as being a symbol of the patriarchy thus meaning Rossetti is potentially suggesting that men can be deceptive in order to achieve their goals.

‘She ______ and ______ and ______ the more’

Goblin Market

‘She sucked and sucked and sucked the more’: Rossetti is implying that Laura is addicted to the goblin men’s fruits and is maybe alluding to opioid use and addiction in the Victorian era.

‘She _____ and _____ away’

Goblin Market

‘She pined and pined away’: Laura begins to deteriorate which is an allusion to her losing her purity and innocence thus making her a ‘fallen woman’ and therefore no longer of purpose within Victorian patriarchal society.

‘______ with their nails‘

Goblin Market

‘Clawed with their nails’: Rossetti uses a semantic field of violence which certainly implies Lizzie is raped by the goblin men. This highlights the theme of sacrifice as she is doing this to save her sister.

‘Both were _____ / With ________ of their own’

Goblin Market

‘Both were wives / With children of their own’: Despite writing this poem which can be interpreted as a feminist piece of work which challenges the values held in Victorian patriarchal society, Rossetti returns back to traditional values at the end. This could perhaps allude to how women’s voices were not considered, showing that no matter how much pain they endure, their position within society never changed.

‘______ blank’

From the Antique

‘Doubly blank’: Rossetti is potentially rejecting both the physical and spiritual world in terms of meaning, suggesting both are blank and fleeting.

‘I wish I were a ___ / Or, better then any being, _______’

From the Antique

‘I wish I were a man / Or, better then any being, were not’: Here, the patriarchy that was upheld during the Victorian era is being rejected. This is typically the reason why critics believe Rossetti did not publish this poem in her lifetime, as she would have received intense backlash.

‘Not a ____ and not a ____‘

From the Antique

‘Not a body and not a soul’: The concept of souls is taught in Christianity, and, despite Rossetti’s strong sense of Christianity, as proved by breaking off two engagements as a result of religious differences, she rejects this teaching. Symons comments on this, saying the depth of Rossetti’s religion is evident in her poetry however, she takes an impartial stance by never preaching what the audience should and should not believe.

‘Eyes as ______’ & ‘________ on a stream’

Echo

‘Eyes as bright’ & ‘Sunlight on a stream’: The peaceful imagery alludes to how the speaker feels about their lover and the recurring theme of light perhaps gives her lover life, drawing a larger distinction between life and death. This focus on appearance could also be an allusion to Greek myth in which Echo is a nymph who helps Zeus commit adultery, resulting in her personal voice being taken away so she can only echo other people’s words. Unrequited love is also explored as Echo falls in love with Narcissus but is rejected and pines away. This demonstrates the destruction certain emotions cause, such as unrequited love and exaggerated narcissism.

‘Whose wakening should have been in ________’

Echo

‘Whose wakening should have been in Paradise’: This ghostly idea links to the Victorian obsession with gothic themes and the supernatural. Moreover, ‘Paradise’ has religious connotations, again echoing Rossetti’s strong sense of Christianity.

‘Yet ________________‘

Echo

‘Yet come to me in dreams’: There is an interesting link drawn between death and dreaming as, despite the two being quite oxymoronic, they are literally very similar as dreaming is a death-like state, perhaps alluding to Rossetti being a devout Anglo-Catholic and therefore believing in ‘soul sleep’ (death is a waiting period between current life and the next life).

‘Watch the _________’

Echo

‘Watch the slow door’: The door is a symbol of the barrier drawn between the speaker and her deceased lover, signifying ending however, in other literary works, doors tend to be used as a symbol of new beginnings and perhaps agency. This also emphasises the idealistic depiction of love in this poem as this barrier does not stop the speaker from yearning, in fact it seemingly encourages her, linking to Rossetti’s ‘melancholic desire for death’, according to Bowra. Similarly, this demonstrates the permanence of death and the lack of choice that comes with that as the speaker continues to yearn for her deceased lover despite them no longer being physically present.

‘Am I a _____, and not a _____’

Good Friday

‘Am I a stone, and not a sheep’: The speaker is unfeeling and lifeless as a result of not being a devout follower of Christ, as sheep are often symbols of. This links to Nietzsche’s famous quote ‘God is dead’ and the decline of religion in the Victorian era as a result of scientific and industrial advancement.