Imagery and Symbolism

Imagery and symbolism The imagery used in the first stanza draws on familiar natural objects but can also be read at another level in the light of Rossetti’s knowledge of the Bible. In the second verse, the focus is on artificial objects hung, carved and worked by human hands. Various images in this verse demonstrate an awareness of traditional Christian art, as well as reflecting and celebrating human creativity. A singing bird - To a ‘singing bird’ (line 1), vocal expression is as natural as breathing. By speaking of her ‘heart’ in these terms, the speaker indicates that her song forms a natural part of herself and is an overflow of her identity. The image of the singing bird is one which is often used in Romantic poetry. William Wordsworth emphasised the importance of expressing natural feelings when he argued that it was his intention to create a poetry which was a ‘spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’. (See Literary context > Romantic poetry). A watered shoot - By having a ‘nest’ in a ‘watered shoot’ (line 2), the speaker suggests that the sustenance upon which she can live and rest has been provided: •The word shoot alludes to the first stages of growth of a plant as it emerges from the ground. By describing a shoot as ‘well watered’, the poem conveys ideas of lushness and fertility. However, rather than making a nest in a full grown tree, by making it in a shoot, the singing bird remains in a place of fragility, since it is easy to uproot or destroy a shoot
•The idea of being watered has biblical connotations. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the believers in Jerusalem are encouraged by God’s promise that he will guide them and provide for their needs: The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs … You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11 TNIV An apple tree - The image of the ‘apple tree / Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit’ (lines 3-4) would be a