Christina Rossetti After Death Essay
In “After Death,” Christina Rossetti portrays that life has no value until it is taken away:
The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept
And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may
Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay,
Where thro’ the lattice ivy-shadows crept.
He leaned above me, thinking that I slept
And could not hear him; but I heard him say:
“Poor child, poor child”: and as he turned away
Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept.
He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold
That hid my face, or take my hand in his,
Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head:
He did not love me living but once dead
He pitied me; and very sweet it is
To know he still is warm tho’ I am cold.
Many literary works have made the same claims about people …show more content…
Rossetti continues her sonnet by introducing the male figure in the second quatrain. We, as readers, are not certain of the relationship of this male figure to the writer, but it can be assumed that the man is either a lover or her father. As the poem continues in the second quatrain, there is still no description of emotions, Rossetti only describes the man’s actions. The lack of feelings and emotion shows the darkness of the poem. In the final six lines, Rossetti says, “He did not love me living but once dead /
He pitied me,” (12-13) to criticize the male figure. The two lines together show how the man never had any feelings for the author and he only feels pity for her just because she is dead. The male figure does not realize that he loves the author or longs for her after her death like the saying “you don’t have until is gone,” would usually be portrayed. The author is gone but the male figure still does not love her. Rossetti uses sarcasm in the closing lines of the poem when she says, “and very sweet it is / To know he still is warm tho’ I am cold,” (13-14) because she means the exact opposite. She does not care that the male figure is still living while she is dead, because he is not worthy of any affection or emotion. The sonnet wraps up with its theme being unchanged throughout. The author feels bitterness towards the man because he never learned to love her even after her
The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept
And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may
Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay,
Where thro’ the lattice ivy-shadows crept.
He leaned above me, thinking that I slept
And could not hear him; but I heard him say:
“Poor child, poor child”: and as he turned away
Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept.
He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold
That hid my face, or take my hand in his,
Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head:
He did not love me living but once dead
He pitied me; and very sweet it is
To know he still is warm tho’ I am cold.
Many literary works have made the same claims about people …show more content…
Rossetti continues her sonnet by introducing the male figure in the second quatrain. We, as readers, are not certain of the relationship of this male figure to the writer, but it can be assumed that the man is either a lover or her father. As the poem continues in the second quatrain, there is still no description of emotions, Rossetti only describes the man’s actions. The lack of feelings and emotion shows the darkness of the poem. In the final six lines, Rossetti says, “He did not love me living but once dead /
He pitied me,” (12-13) to criticize the male figure. The two lines together show how the man never had any feelings for the author and he only feels pity for her just because she is dead. The male figure does not realize that he loves the author or longs for her after her death like the saying “you don’t have until is gone,” would usually be portrayed. The author is gone but the male figure still does not love her. Rossetti uses sarcasm in the closing lines of the poem when she says, “and very sweet it is / To know he still is warm tho’ I am cold,” (13-14) because she means the exact opposite. She does not care that the male figure is still living while she is dead, because he is not worthy of any affection or emotion. The sonnet wraps up with its theme being unchanged throughout. The author feels bitterness towards the man because he never learned to love her even after her