Christina Rossetti

Presentation by Keana Karnopp, 2011

Biography

Collected Works

Sample Poems

Inspired Poems

Original Poems

Bibliography

“Silence is more musical than any song” (“Christina Rossetti Quotes”). This quote was said by Christina Rossetti, which shows the contradicting shy and outgoing sides of her personality. These sides helped her in her flourishing career. She was one of the most influential poets of her time. Full name, Christina Georgina Rossetti, she was born in London on December 5, 1830 to her loving, talented parents Gabriele and Frances Rossetti (Everett). Rossetti’s childhood was very unsociable and lonely, making her poems very relatable and deep. Her social life was limited to her brother’s friends that were introduced to her, because she kept to herself in her home in London for most of her life (“Christina Rossetti”). At age 7 she spent most of her time at home writing and learning from her mother for her education (“Christina Georgina Rossetti Biography”). As Rossetti grew older she was diagnosed, more than once, with a recurring disease called Grave’s Disease. Before, she had been told it was angina or tuberculosis until they came up with the diagnosis of Grave’s Disease (“Christina Rossetti” 1). Grave’s Disease is a disease characterized by an enlarged thyroid, a rapid pulse, and increased basal metabolism due to excessive thyroid secretion. Along with that factor Dante, Rossetti’s famous brother, introduced her to his colleague Charles Cayley and they fell in love (Everett) (“Christina Rossetti Biography”). Yet, Rossetti refused to marry Charles because he wasn’t Christian. Rossetti’s beliefs got in the way of her love life, and she never ended up marrying. She did like to imitate other people’s lives to see through their eyes in her poems and writing (Everett). Although Rossetti’s life influenced her poems, other experiences caused her to be very influential through her writing.

BiographyChristina RossettiBiography

Collected Works

Sample Poems

Inspired Poems

Original Poems

Bibliography

It started with poems, and ended with children’s literature (Everett). Christina Rossetti’s career began at home, writing for her mother for schoolwork. Once her father had become tremendously ill, both Christina and her mother attended day school to make up for the family’s lost paycheck, as they were already considered poor (Everett). Her many wild experiences, including working in a refuge with former prostitutes, came in handy when she wrote her poems by giving her hands on experience in the outside world, something she wasn’t familiar with (“Christina Georgina Rossetti Biography”). Emily Dickinson, Ellen Alleyne, and her own brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti influenced her writing through their ideals and symbols (“Christina Rossetti” 1). Although her experiences are too many to name, she wasn’t awarded with prizes, but she did manage to complete three major volumes of poetry before her death (“Christina Georgina Rossetti”). Some of her famous poems include A Birthday, Goblin Market, Sleeping at Last, By the Sea, and After Death (“Collected Works”). Rossetti’s poetry was through experience and unique style and ideas. Rossetti’s thinking was far beyond boring and plain. Her poems were marked by symbolism and intense emotion. Being a Victorian poet, she was enlightened by her Christian roots (“Christina Rossetti” 1). Rossetti’s poems were written with mystic religious lyrics that spoke in a fascinating tone (“Christina Georgina Rossetti Biography”) and the phrases in her writing were worded with an earthy passion, like a ballad (“Christina Rossetti Biography”). Allusions, blank verses, elegies, and imagery are just a few of the poetic devices she so brilliantly used. Like in her last contribution “Sleeping at Last”, ironically published after she died, she chose words like “Singing birds in their leafy cover” and “No more a tired heart downcast or overcast, No more pangs that wring or shifting fears that hover” (“Sleeping at Last”). Famous for her highly sentimental religious poems, Christina Georgina Rossetti is regarded as one of, if not the greatest female poet, or writer, of her time (“Christina Rossetti Biography”).

Biography

Collected Works

Sample Poems

Inspired Poems

Original Poems

Bibliography

Collected WorksAfter DeathAloofApple-Gathering, AnAt Home Before the Paling of the StarsBeneath Thy Cross Better Resurrection, ABirthday, ABy the SeaCobwebsConvent Threshold, The Cousin Kate Daughter of Eve, ADe ProfundisDream LandEchoEnd, AnEveFirst Day, The From Sunset to Star Rise From the AntiqueGoblin MarketHoly Innocents In an Artist's StudioIn Progress

For more poems by this poet: http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/crossetti/bl-crossetti-collected.htm

Biography

Collected Works

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Inspired Poems

Original Poems

Bibliography

REMEMBERby: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

REMEMBER me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go, yet

turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you plann'd: Only remember me; you understand It will be late

to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for a while And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should

forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad.

ANALYSIS POEMBiography

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ANALYSISIn Christina Rossetti’s poem Remember, she uses a distinct mood to shield her topic of remembrance and triumph after ones death. After reading this poem I felt like I was being comforted by a deceased loved one, being told to forget them to be happy. I think Rossetti conveyed her deep inner, and emotional thoughts on death and how she hoped people would react to her death through euphoria instead of grieving. Only remember me; you understand/It will be late to counsel then or pray/Yet if you should forget me for a while/ and afterwards remember, do not grieve. These lines in Rossetti’s poem set a mood by revealing her innermost secret, wanting to be forgotten so people close to her have a hint of bliss after her passing. Better by far you should forget and smile/than that you should remember and be sad. Broadcasted through this line of Remember is that Christina Rossetti would rather her admirers forget about her and be joyful and happy than having them remember her and be in mourn. The tone, or mood, of these excerpts sends a sorrowful message to the readers, thus making the reader experience remorse. Remember relates to its readers by digging deep into emotions and setting a unique, creative mood and getting the reader to grasp their own emotions. Overall, Rossetti creates a delicate picture in the minds of the unfortunate who have lost someone special and are still hovering over their bereavement.

Biography

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Song by Christina Rossetti caught my attention by digging deep into sorrow through nature. Be the green grass above me/with showers and dew drops wet. Rossetti gets through to the reader with these lines by basically saying ‘watch over her when she is deceased, through thick and thin’. Song is a great reminder of letting go of loved ones, even though you won’t forget them.

SONGBy: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

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.

INTRODUCTIONSBiography

Collected Works

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Original Poems

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I was intrigued by A Birthday because it is one of Rossetti’s only poems with a bright mood. In this poem she talks about her love that has come to her, which contradicts her reality because she never married. Her tone stays at a high point throughout the poem, showing that even though most of her poems are depressing in theme, she is

still overall a happy person.

A BIRTHDAYby: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)MY heart is like a singing bird Whose nest is in a water'd shoot; My heart is like an apple-tree Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit; My heart is like a rainbow shell That paddles in a halcyon sea; My heart is gladder than all these, Because my love is come to me. Raise me a daïs of silk and down; Hang it with vair and purple dyes; Carve it in doves and pomegranates, And peacocks with a hundred eyes; Work it in gold and silver grapes, In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys; Because the birthday of my life Is come, my love is come to me.

Biography

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INSPIRED POEMSMY DREAMby: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

HEAR now a curious dream I dreamed last night Each word whereof is weighed and sifted truth. I stood beside Euphrates while it swelled

Like overflowing Jordan in its youth: It waxed and coloured sensibly to sight; Till out of myriad pregnant waves there welled Young crocodiles, a gaunt blunt-featured crew, Fresh-hatched perhaps and daubed with birthday dew. The rest if I should tell, I fear my friend My closest friend would deem the facts untrue; And therefore it were wisely left untold; Yet if you will, why, hear it to the end. Each crocodile was girt with massive gold And polished stones that with their wearers grew: But one there was who waxed beyond the rest, Wore kinglier girdle and a kingly crown, Whilst crowns and orbs and sceptres starred his breast. All gleamed compact and green with scale on scale, But special burnishment adorned his mail And special terror weighed upon his frown; His punier brethren quaked before his tail, Broad as a rafter, potent as a flail.

Biography

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So he grew lord and master of his kin: But who shall tell the tale of all their woes? An execrable appetite arose, He battened on them, crunched, and sucked them in. He knew no law, he feared no binding law, But ground them with inexorable jaw: The luscious fat distilled upon his chin, Exuded from his nostrils and his eyes, While still like hungry death he fed his maw; Till every minor crocodile being dead And buried too, himself gorged to the full, He slept with breath oppressed and unstrung claw. Oh marvel passing strange which next I saw: In sleep he dwindled to the common size, And all the empire faded from his coat. Then from far off a wingèd vessel came, Swift as a swallow, subtle as a flame: I know not what it bore of freight or host, But white it was as an avenging ghost. It levelled strong Euphrates in its course; Supreme yet weightless as an idle mote It seemed to tame the waters without force Till not a murmur swelled or billow beat: Lo, as the purple shadow swept the sands, The prudent crocodile rose on his feet And shed appropriate tears and wrung his hands. What can it mean? you ask. I answer not For meaning, but myself must echo, What? And tell it as I saw it on the spot.

Biography

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Premonition(inspired by Christina Rossetti) Hear now a curious dream I dreamed last night,Each word whereof is weighed and sifted truth.Two kites interlaced like wool twisting on a spindle.The torrid wind nibbling at my skin, voices inside me tussled.They murmured unspeakable thoughts.My mother grabbed my arm with great tutelage as we walked swiftly down the long gravel road.My feet shuffled, crying from exhaustion, I was tangled.In the midst of the scorching summer day, my kite was kidnapped by the light blue sky, Never to be returned.

Sleeping at Last By Christina Georgina Rossetti

(1830-1894)Sleeping at last, the trouble and tumult over,

Sleeping at last, the struggle and horror past, Cold and white, out of sight of friend and of lover, Sleeping at last. No more a tired heart downcast or overcast, No more pangs that wring or shifting fears that hover, Sleeping at last in a dreamless sleep locked fast. Fast asleep. Singing birds in their leafy cover Cannot wake her, nor shake her the gusty blast. Under the purple thyme and the purple clover Sleeping at last.

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Serendipity(inspired by Christina Rossetti)My heart beats pause as the water of a grandeur fountain spills over stone palettes lining rusty spouts.Like the grace of a winter’s day, my love screams with triumph.As time goes by, the golden sky awakes and I quiver with devotion.Your lips smeared against mine, Looking across a vast ocean, we fell into everlasting peace.

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ORIGINAL POEMSFAITHThe mottled runners congregate at the start,Conniving strategies, feeling excitement, yet solitude.A sudden rush of adrenaline feels its way through their bodies, Like a flash of lightning striking the ground.A loud snap of the gun,The runners steal the spotlight.Names shouted across the field,As the clocks tick,Pressure’s on.Finishing in qualifying times, Runners embrace each other in celebration, Pressures off, goals met.

A NIGHTMARENightingales in the starry night sky sing,My heart beats rapidly.Ominous shadows envelope my path,As my breath fogs the air.In front of me I hear movements, I confidently diverge.My blue eyes catch a glimpse of the moon,As I peer around the corner, I’m startledOnly to find my conscience,Stalking my well-being.Nightingales in the starry night sky sing,My heart feels no pulse.

Biography

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BIBILIOGRAPHY

http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/crossetti/rossettibio.htmlhttp://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/716http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2753http://www.bookrags.com/biography/christina-georgina-rossetti/http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/christina_rossetti/biographyhttp://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/christinar147533.htmlhttp://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/crossetti/bl-crossetti-collected.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lisisoft.com/imglisi/5/Themes/150980sun-over-the-ocean.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lisisoft.com/fulldownload/desktop-utilities/themes-list/20-page/&usg=__Ayj28YrmeTancKE2pivO5gcjmp0=&h=768&w=1024&sz=157&hl=en&start=21&zoom=1&tbnid=uWiRfZKTIRWakM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=190&ei=ybO1TYKuCo7uvQPjrPWgBw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Docean%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D763%26bih%3D439%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch0%2C1018&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=128&vpy=133&dur=296&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=194&ty=168&page=4&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:21&biw=763&bih=439

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.windsorct.org/sagelmc/GRADE8/kite.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.windsorct.org/sagelmc/GRADE8/kites.htm&usg=__Td8LHApE_UC7v4Y554StQZKblDg=&h=365&w=291&sz=5&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=US2lSoE08OaEtM:&tbnh=141&tbnw=111&ei=ZLS1TfCuL4fuvQPp-KGdBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkite%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D763%26bih%3D439%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=537&vpy=60&dur=1326&hovh=251&hovw=200&tx=77&ty=118&page=1&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0http://www.poetry-archive.com/r/my_dream.htmlhttp://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/crossetti/bl-crossetti-sleep.htm

Biography

Collected Works

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Inspired Poems

Original Poems

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http://www.poetry-archive.com/r/song.htmlhttp://www.poetry-archive.com/r/remember.htmlhttp://www.poetry-archive.com/r/a_birthday.htmlhttp://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/825/000086567/christina-rossetti-1877.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nndb.com/people/825/000086567/&usg=__4aFsrXJWbTHKzBOaMqASJhEw95c=&h=293&w=240&sz=15&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=n93_9EYBAZMmuM:&tbnh=173&tbnw=144&ei=YBC3TevIK5H0tgOy1u2oAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dchristina%2Brossetti%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D839%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=456&vpy=91&dur=2574&hovh=234&hovw=192&tx=112&ty=133&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.turnbacktogod.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/cross-of-christ-0101.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.turnbacktogod.com/september-14-triumph-of-the-holy-cross/&usg=__n53NlugCeNLe411YY2yhWburKdI=&h=1080&w=1440&sz=593&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=5U4DA3u_R2DbkM:&tbnh=157&tbnw=220&ei=Ta25Tdz4J86ltwfxzc3eBA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dholy%2Bcross%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D839%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=390&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0&tx=135&ty=88

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eagletreks.com/assets/galleries/15/crocodile_in_rapti_river.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.eagletreks.com/jungle-safari-in-nepal.html&usg=__FOtm6ZdUqB2qH57rNUo5OOCYe9w=&h=427&w=640&sz=99&hl=en&start=40&zoom=1&tbnid=-C0wr1j8hnEXDM:&tbnh=153&tbnw=204&ei=pending&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcrocodile%2Bby%2Ba%2Briver%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D839%26gbv%3D2%26site%3Dsearch%26tbm%3Disch0%2C1762&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=347&vpy=297&dur=3479&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=134&ty=104&page=3&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:40&biw=1276&bih=839

Biography

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http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wallpapers247.com/images/wallpapers/bird-1-wallpaper-1024x768-853745.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.wallpapers247.com/wallpaper/Bird-Tanager-Panama/&usg=__SAxJuLTeSghNDSVcaON3Jt5qd5U=&h=768&w=1024&sz=63&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=uigRy9KjnXzlPM:&tbnh=165&tbnw=247&ei=gLG5TZOnEI-atwemtfHdBA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbird%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D839%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbBiography

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