Formal Features of Remember by Christina Rossetti Essay

Remember is a sonnet by a poetess of Victorian England, Christina Rossetti. The poem was written in 1849 but was first create in 1862 in Goblin Market and Other Poems by Rossetti (Petacovic, 2009). Rossetti suffered from sick-abed health throughout her life (Shanks, 2010) she seemed to be obsessed with her death and and then wrote several poems (Song, The One Certainty) exploring the theme of death. Christina Rossetti was only 19 when she wrote Remember. Scholars believe that the poem was addressed to her fiance, Charles Cayley, though they later uncaring due to differing religious views.Written in iambic pentameter, Remember is a sonnet with Italian form. It is divided into an octet and a sestet. The octave (eight lines) rhymes ABBAABBA. As in close to sonnets, the octet serves to set the theme of the narrative. The author seems to be informing the reader about her impending death. The sestet (six lines), on the new(prenominal) hand, has a rhyme precis of CDDECE. This variati on in rhyming scheme changes the atmosphere of the poem. The basic theme of the poem is that the narrator is asking to be remembered by her loved one but if her remembrance brings sorrow, she would rather be forgotten.Rossetti has employed simple words throughout the poem (Bennet, 2012). There atomic number 18 no visual details in the 14 lines. The author uses the show remember me three times in the first eight lines, or so demanding that she be remembered in certain situations. In the sestet the tone is very temperate. There is no use of imperatives. Instead, she states that it is better that her lover sometimes bury that she is gone and smile, rather than remember and be sad (Petacovic, 2009). Unlike most of Rossettis poems, such as Winter My Secret, figurative spoken communication is utilize sparingly in the sonnet.There are three metaphors in this poem. The first metaphor is in verse 1, Remember me when I am gone away, where the words gone away are used instead of dead. T he second metaphor (verse 2), silent land, could by chance allude to a religious land such as heaven, sine or purgatory. This reference reflects Rossetti religious upbringing. The last metaphor is employed in verse 11, For if the darkness and corruption confide, where darkness and corruption leave is used as metaphor for her lovers anger at her death (Petacovic, 2009).