Compare and contrast how Christina Rossetti shows her views on death and the after-life in the poems ‘Song’ and ‘Remember’ - Ana Marchant

Compare and contrast how Christina Rossetti shows her views on death and the after-life in the poems ‘Song’ and ‘Remember’

Both ‘Song’ and ‘Remember’ focus on the topic of death and Rossetti writes boldly and clearly about this, perhaps rather morbid, topic whilst showing no fear of what she is very much aware is inevitable. Rossetti was born in 1830 and so was raised in Victorian England, a time when lack of sanitation and awareness of the hygiene and health and safety that is so fundamental today would have meant that many would have been all too aware of their own mortality. Christina herself remarked upon how her own childhood was not only a time of joy but also a time tinged with sadness, as it was the time that she became aware of the harsh reality of death and the mortality of all living things.  Perhaps death was so significant to Rossetti due to the deterioration of her father’s health after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis when she was only thirteen. It is also possible that her devout religious beliefs made death a topic that she wanted to discuss as she herself had very specific ideas about what would happen after death. She believed in Soul Sleep, which was an idea that after death the soul would remain until the second coming of Christ when they would then be raised.  These factors, combined with the fact that mourning during the Victorian period was an act that consisted of many rituals and traditions that would be seen as rather peculiar and morbid today, meant that death would have been an ever present topic in Rossetti’s life, and was therefore also very present in her poetry.

One similarity between these poems is the fact that both personas seem to be completely aware that death is an inevitable destination that they will no doubt one day face, “when I am dead, my dearest”. This line, taken from ‘Song’, illustrates this. The use of the word “when” implies that the persona is simply waiting for the day to come when they will be dead. The simple way in which Rossetti writes this line suggests a certain comfortableness that the persona has with the idea of death and suggests that they are at ease with the fact that they will, no doubt, die. This is further implied by the fact that the use of iambic trimeter in the first line stresses the words “I” and “dead”. The use of the caesura in this line before the endearment, “my dearest”, implies that although the persona is at complete ease with the fact that they will die, they are aware that the reader may not feel the same and so is trying to comfort the reader to some extent. The juxtaposition between the morbidity of death and the more cheery connotations of the endearment, “dearest”, highlights just how comfortable the persona is with the topic of death as they are so prepared that they will die that they are even able to comfort others regarding it.  The poem, ‘Remember’, also suggests this, “when I am gone away”. Again, the use of the word “when” suggests that the persona is aware of the inevitability of death. The fact that the persona can speak so plainly about the fact that after death they will have “gone away” also implies that they do not fear death and are comfortable with the fact that death means leaving everything that you know behind to go to a new  and unknown place. This is further suggested by the second line, “gone far away into the silent land”. Repetition of words in the first line, only this time with the use of the word “far”, implies that the persona has fully considered what dying means and is almost correcting their first statement to better fit what they believe death entails. The word “far” emphasises just how distant death will make the persona and although one would expect this to make death even more of a morbid topic, the fact that Rossetti repeats the first line with this additional word suggests that the persona is at peace with the distance that death will put between them and their current life, so much so that they want to make clear just how “far” away the “silent land” is.

In both poems, Rossetti conveys the idea that death means an absence of many things, “I shall not see the shadows”. This line has a clear iambic trimeter. This is significant because the rhythm of this poem is not always consistent but this line and the line preceding it both have a regular rhythm. This could be an implication that these lines hold eternal truths that are as natural as the circle of life itself, hence the rhythm that creates a sense of repetition and makes the lines more fluid to speak aloud. This rhythm stresses the words “shall”, “see” and “feel”. The word “shall” suggests that the persona is very confident that this is what death will be like, and suggests that they are not guessing as to what is will be like but rather they know what it will hold for them. The words “see” and “feel” implies that, to the persona, death means an absence of the emotions that we experience every day in life. Although this may seem at first quite disconcerting, Rossetti portrays this to be a positive thing as she suggests that this means an absence of the negative emotions that we are subject to in life. This is implied by the use of the words “shadows” and “rain”, which both have connotations of suffering and melancholy. The poem ‘Remember’ also suggests the idea that death means the end of the emotions and sensations that we feel in life, “when you can no more hold me by the hand”. The idea of the reader being able to “no more hold” the persona further suggests the distance that death creates. This idea of the persona no longer being able to have a relationship with the person they are directing the poem to could be interpreted as quite upsetting. However, much like the message that is conveyed in ‘Song’, Rossetti could be implying that death could be seen as positive as the persona in ‘Remember’ only seems to be able to find freedom in death, “you tell me of our future that you’d planned”. The use of the pronoun “you” in contrast with the pronoun “our” suggests that the poetic voice is quite controlled in life, as despite the fact that the future that is planned belongs to both of them , the persona seemed to have no say in it. This was likely to be true of many women in the Victorian era, as it was often the case that the husband would make the decisions in the relationship and would have the most authority between the two of them. Therefore, Rossetti could be suggesting that death offers a type of freedom that the persona had never before experienced as they can no longer be controlled in any way.  This is very similar to the idea conveyed in ‘Song’ that death frees the deceased of the negative emotions that they may experience in life.

As well as this, in both poems Rossetti is very clear as to how loved ones should react to a death, “sing no sad songs for me”. The trochaic foot in this line emphasises the idea of singing in a confident and assertive tone. The fact that both words “sad” and “songs” are stressed and are placed consecutively in the sentence means that they are very stressed. They do not fit into the regular iambic trimeter of the first sentence and seem to weigh the sentence down. This suggests that “sad songs” do not fit into Rossetti’s idea of how people should grieve and that she does not want the reader to be sad as these words disrupt the rhythm of the sentence which suggests that “sad songs” disrupt how grieving should naturally be. This idea that people should respond to the death of a loved one positively is then further suggested, “be the green grass above me”. The use of an imperative verb at the beginning of the line gives it a positive tone. Rossetti asserts a positive of what she wants to happen and rhythmically there is a very positive emphasis on the word “be”.  Rossetti uses the following line to further suggest that people should try to act positively after a death instead of singing “sad songs”, “with showers and dewdrops wet”. This could be a metaphor for tears and Rossetti implies that those who are grieving should use their tears to bring things alive and help the “grass” grow.  In ‘Remember’ Rossetti also suggests that it is better to be positive after a death than to be sad, “better by far that you should forget and smile”. Although the phrase “remember me” is repeated several times in the poem, Rossetti states that if doing so makes them sad, then the person should not remember at all. This implies that the priority of the persona is to make sure that their loved ones are happy and that that is more important to them than being remembered and this is suggested by the words “better by far”. The fact that these words are placed at the beginning of the line and are all similarly stressed implies how important the persona believes it to be for their loved ones to be happy.

Although ‘Remember’ begins with the words “remember me”, in ‘Song’ Rossetti is never so certain that the persona will be remembered, “and if thou wilt, remember”. The word “and” almost suggests that being remembered is an additional thought to the persona and not their main priority. The use of the caesura after the word “wilt” suggests that the persona is unsure as to whether they will be remembered. It implies a brief moment of bravado that their life will be remembered. However, both poems suggest that the personas do not know whether they will be remembered and are exploring both scenarios of being remembered and being forgotten. This sense of uncertainty is also suggested by the idea of “twilight” in ‘Song’ as twilight is a time in-between states of night and day. Both poems end on the idea of being forgotten, “than you should remember and be sad”. This line in ‘Remember’ suggests that the persona has come to the conclusion that it may be best to be forgotten as it is not worth their loved ones being “sad”. In ‘Song’ the poem ends with the line, “and haply may forget”. The last word “forget” is deadening and ends the poem on an abrupt note with a sense of finality. Perhaps Rossetti is suggesting that she believes that being forgotten is inevitable?

There are many similarities between these poems and the ideas that Rossetti conveys in them. It is clear that death is an important topic to Rossetti and her writing implies that she is quite certain on her theories about what death entails.