Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti Christina Rossetti was one of the greatest female Victorian poets who connected her personal life and spiritual life. Christina Rossetti is a poet who heavily focuses on different themes within her writing. Two of the major themes that Christina Rossetti has focused on are acceptance of death and love. Within Christina Rossetti’s writing it is very obvious the message that she is trying portray. Remember Me and Baby Lies So Fast Asleep are two poems that apply the themes of acceptance of death. A Birthday and Trust me, the poem number six of her Monna Innominata, are two poems that apply the theme of love. These are just a few examples of how she portrays love and death within her writing. Remember Me is a poem about death. Christina Rossetti is addressing her loved on and wants him to remember her after death. In Remember Me, Christina Rossetti is asking her loved one to remember her even if his memory of her begins to fade. She wants him to do everything he could to remember her. She uses repetition to emphasize how important it is for her loved one to remember her even after she passes away. “Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad."
Within these last two lines of the poem, it is obvious that she is changing her tone because she is giving permission to her loved one to forget her gradually. She would rather him forget her and smile rather than remembering her and being sad. She is coming to acceptance that she will pass away and her loved one may forget her over time. Christina Rossetti wants her loved one to be happy, even if that means that he will slowly forget her. Baby Lies So Fast Asleep is another poem that is about acceptance of death. Baby Lies So Fast Asleep is a poem about a death of a baby. The repetition of the opening line creates a sense of comfort and unease simultaneously. The narrator is the mother who is explaining the death of her baby of her baby to the baby’s sibling. The mother is explaining to the child that the baby will always be sleeping. She would rather tell her child, and perhaps even herself, that the baby is only sleeping, because it feels less permanent than death. The child asks if the angels will take the deceased baby to Heaven. The mother is explaining to her child that the baby is asleep and far away from harm. She tells the child to place a flower in the dead baby’s hand, kiss the body, and come away. "Baby lies so fast asleep That no pain can grieve her; Put a snowdrop in her hand, Kiss her once and leave her."
Within these last few lines, I feel as the message if accepting death because it is a natural part of life. A snowdrop is a short-lived flower that blooms for a few weeks at the end of winter just like the baby’s short-lived life. Also, the snowdrop is another important symbol because it is white and pure just like a new baby. This poem starts off really melancholy but by the end of the poem it makes you realize that it is life for you. Whether you realize it or not, everything happens for a reason. Another theme that Christina Rossetti heavily focuses on is the theme of love. In the poem, A Birthday is a poem that focuses on the excitement over her lover’s upcoming birthday. Christina Rossetti compares her heart to various things in nature. She uses the images of a songbird, a fruit-laden apple-tree, and a rainbow to express the depth of her love. She asks for an elaborate golden throne carved in wood. She joyfully exclaims that the birthday of her love and her life has arrived. It is clear that regardless of whom the "love" represents, the narrator feels extreme joy at his or her arrival. A singing bird uses melody to express itself similar to the way that humans use words. Christina Rossetti reveals the longing of her heart with the freedom of a bird. Trust me, the poem number six of her Monna Innominata, is another poem that addresses the theme of love. Also, this poem demonstrates how God is always in Christina Rossetti’s mind. In the first lines, Christina Rossetti is talking to her lover about the feelings she has for God. Christina Rossetti realizes that God will always be the first priority for herself. Also, she admits that if she had to choose between God and her lover, she will choose God without any doubts. Then Christina Rossetti states that her love for God doesn’t mean she cannot love her lover as well.
“I love him more, so let me love you too”
Finally, in the lines,
“I cannot love you if I love not Him
I cannot love Him if I love not you”, we can see the whole theme of the poem summed up. Christina Rossetti is explaining how she will be able to love her lover only with the strength that God gives her; so, she needs God first in order to love her lover. Without her faith, Christina Rossetti would never be able to be in a relationship with her lover. It is obvious that Christina Rossetti’s love cannot be seen separately from God. God is her priority and the love that she is able to feel for another person comes directly from the strength that God gives her. Overall, Christina Rossetti is a phenomenal Victorian poet who portrays different themes in her writing. It is obvious that she applies her own personal experiences into her writing. Christina Rossetti is a poet who applies not only the theme of death but the theme of love as well. Remember Me, Baby Lies So Fast Asleep, A Birthday and Trust me are just a few examples that apply these themes in her writing.