How does Rossetti explore attitudes towards life and death in ‘Remember’?

How does Rossetti explore attitudes towards life and death in ‘Remember’?

Christina Rossetti frequently explores both life and death throughout many of her poems; this is especially prominent within ‘Remember’, where life and death are also contrasted with the speakers love. This theme is common throughout numerous of Rossetti’s work, ‘Song’ is closely linked to ‘Remember’, with both poems featuring a speaker who holds a certainty towards death whilst addressing their lover. This certainty of death mirrors Rossetti’s situation during the time of composition, with an ill father and her own mental illness, the speaker could be debated.

The octave- first eight lines- initiates with the phrase “Remember me”, something that is not only repeated throughout the poem, but is also the title. During the duration of the poem the reader learns that the speaker wishes to in fact not be remembered, conveying selflessness and choosing to sacrifice their own happiness for their lovers. Therefore this is a contradicting title, possibly portraying the uncertainty caused by death. The first line continues to state “when I am gone away”, which instantly introduces the theme of death, which is only accentuated throughout within the following line, “Gone far away into the silent land”. The added adjective “far” insinuates how death is distinct from life, whilst the imagery of the “silent land” emphasises how death is lonely and remote, somewhere where two lovers can never meet. The death imagery presented through the “silent land” can be compared with the “Paradise” described within ‘Echo’. “Paradise” suggests the possibility that death is better than life, including all the connotations of a “paradise”, such as relaxation and love. The soft imagery conveyed within ‘Echo’ therefore contrasts that used throughout ‘Remember’, with ‘Echo’ describing death to be more appealing to life, somewhere where “souls brim-full of love can abide and meet”, whereas ‘Remember’ exhibits death as the end of love, dividing lovers and taking them “far” away from each other. The sonnet continues with the line “When you can no more hold me by the hand”, a phrase that contrasts both love and death. The speaker can “no more” be held by their lover, introducing death and the connotations of loneliness, however “hold me by the hand” incorporates companionship and physical contact, contrasting the isolated imagery and possibly existing as a way for the speaker to “remember” the times she shared with her loved one. The imperative “Remember me” conveys the speaker’s certainty of death, with the repetition only strengthening their urgency of addressing their loved one, and highlighting the abrupt nature of death. However the speaker states “You tell me of our future that you plann’d”, this insinuates that the lover- most likely a man- is in control of the relationship, which is unsurprising due to the time period and the inequality prominent throughout this era. The imperatives possessed by the speaker may be a technique used to take control of the relationship and voice her feelings before it is too late.

The octave conveys the message that death destroys love; however the Volta apparent within the ninth line acts as a shift in perspective, altering the tone and overall message of the speaker. Rossetti uses this technique throughout many of her other poems, with the shift in ideas is also prominent within ‘Song’, where the first stanza uses nature imagery that describe life and connote the eternity of nature, with the “roses” and “green grass”, whereas the second stanza features nature imagery as a way to illustrate death, with the “nightingale” and “twilight” both portraying sorrow and darkness. Although both poems do include a shift in tone to present alternative ideas within the same poem, the Volta within ‘Remember’ acts as a complete change in the message whereas the conclusion of the second stanza within ‘Song’ mirrors the first, leading to two contrasting uses of this technique. The enclosed ABBA rhyme scheme of the octave is disrupted by the sestet, with the sestet featuring an inconsistent CDDECE pattern. This emphasises the shift in the speakers thoughts, with the disruption of the steady existing rhyme scheme accentuating the alternative attitudes the speaker held. The rhyme scheme within ‘Remember’ contrasts many of Rossetti’s other poems, ‘Shut Out’ features a consistent ABBA rhyme throughout its seven stanzas. This rhyme scheme conveys enclosure, suggesting that the speaker has tight control on their emotions, as well as signifying the stillness of the speaker, somebody who feels they are not progressing or moving anywhere with their life- mirroring the title “Shut Out”. This completely contrasts the rhyme scheme throughout ‘Remember’, with the inconsistent rhyme illustrating the urgency of the speaker’s situation and connoting an outburst of emotions.

Rossetti maintains the use of imperatives within the sestet, the forceful anapaest “do not grieve” again accentuates the speaker gaining control of her situation and attempting to prevent her loved one from experiencing grief in her absence. The imagery of the “darkness and corruption” alongside the “thoughts that I once had” are another representation of death, highlighting the positivity of life as oppose to the corrupted nature of death, linking to the message of the octave that death destroys companionship with its “corrupt[ed]” nature. The poem concludes with a selfless sentiment reflecting the speakers love for her partner, insisting that it is “Better by far” that they should “forget and smile” than “remember and be sad”. The adjective “far” is added once again to display the speakers strong emotions on the topic, whilst the phrase “remember and be sad” sums up the whole poem, acting as almost a breakthrough in the speaker realising that to remember means not only the end of her life, but also her lovers, something she does not intent to assist to. The repetition of “Remember me” is not maintained within the sestet, this may convey the voice of the speaker fading, acting as a representation of death and signifying the speakers fulfilment in her duty now she has directed her lover to forget her.

The tone of the octave is composed, contemplating the topic of death. The speaker seems to have come to terms with death; with the inclusion of consistent negative death connotations included highlighting this. However the anaphora of “Remember me” insinuates the speaker has not yet accepted the fact that her lover will forget her, with the repetition of the imperatives representing the composed yet urgency of the speakers tone. This anaphora to represent the urgency of the speaker is also maintained within ‘Echo’, with the repetition of “come to me” directly addressing the lover and attempting to preserve the relationship despite the threat of death. The Volta marks a shift in tone and also attitude, with the sestet featuring the speaker insisting her lover forgets her for their own happiness. There speaker directly addresses the lover throughout the poem, with the use of “You” creating an intimate, personal tone. ‘Song’ is also written in first person, directly addressing the lover whilst using strong imperatives to accentuate the certainty of death.

Moreover, the sonnet form provides this poem with a nontraditional aspect due to the fact that sonnets were traditionally written by men, this therefore sets the poem apart from many existing sonnets of the era, but also many of Rossetti’s other poems, with this being the one of the only popular sonnets she composed. ‘Remember’ feature the traditional iambic pentameter of a sonnet, with each line including five stressed syllables. The regularity of this beat reinforces the controlled tone of the speaker, conveying her attempt to gain control over the matter of losing her loved one, something she inevitably realises she has to come to terms with- explaining the conclusion of the poem telling the lover to “forget and smile” rather than “remember and be sad”.

‘Remember’ contemplates the struggle between life, death and love, using the title “Remember” to convey the inevitable nature of death, with the contradicting title highlighting the power of death and how holds the ability to alter ones plans.