Christina Rossetti: Poem #1: 'Song (When I am dead, my dearest):

So, prepare yourself for 14 poems by Christina Rossetti for the poetry aspect of English literature AS level. Get the gin and tonics, grab the balloons and get ready for some voracious, Victorian fun! (Please be aware these are incomplete notes).

Poem #1: Song (When I am dead, my dearest) (Late 1840's):

Content:    

- Similar to 'Remember' (Poem #3).

- A woman who is thinking of death, speaking to her lover/romantic partner and explaining that he/she should not mourn her death, refuting the tradition Victorian attitudes - and their process - of mourning.
-Rossetti is ahead of her time by questioning the values and attitudes of her era.
-A will (of poetic sorts).

Aim:
-To contradict the traditional views of death/bereavement from Rossetti's era.
-Narrative/reflective genre.

Theme:
-Death, loss, reflection, remembrance after death, resigned acceptance of the inevitability of death, religion.

Syntax:
-Frequent use of colons and semi-colons (Similar to 'Maude Clare', Poem #8 and 'No, Thank You, John', Poem #10)

Diction: (Language Analysis):
-Idealistic diction with archaic, natural imagery: 'And dreaming through the twilight...'
-Parallelism and Dichotomies: 'And if thou wilt remember,/ And if thou wilt, forget.'

-Lots of repetition: 'I shall not... I shall not... Haply I may... And haply may...'
-The natural imagery shows the Romantic poets' influence on Rossetti (Especially when writing about death or love)
-Imperative sentences: 'Plant...Be...' which show a soft, quiet confidence and persuasion. Further showing her inner strength which is shown in direct address through the use of these imperatives.
-Archaic terms:'Haply...' which means 'perhaps' showing the narrator's uncertainty. The archaism also develops a solemn tone.
-Symbols: 'Roses...' this use of flowers is a symbol for love, not of death; as lilies are the typical funeral flowers.

Rhyme/Rhythm:
-Strong sense of rhythm and rhyme, a lyric poem which was popular in the mid 19th century.
-The rhyme scheme is abcb, the two octave stanzas are separated into 2 quatrains which both follow abcb rhyme patterns. This regularity perhaps shows the organised, inevitability of death. As death is one of the few regularities in all of our lives.

Imagery:
-See diction above (Lots of natural imagery, Romantic poets' influence etc.)

Form:
-Regular form, indentation on every 2nd line; the imprints of people on our lives?
-2 octave stanzas

Tone + Mood:
-Reflective attitudes, mournful yet accepting tone.
-A resigned tone to the attitudes of the narrator, she has accepted her death before she has died.

Metre:
-Very regular metre
-'When I/am dead/my dearest' There are three iambic feet in which the 2nd part is stressed

Voice + Viewpoint:
-1st person narrative stance

Topic Sentences

'Discuss how Rossetti writes about nature'

Topic sentence ideas to begin paragraph for this example essay:

- Rossetti's narrator refers to nature in order to...
- Aspects of nature such as... seems to be used symbolically...
- There is a... tone to the narrator's voice when focusing on nature.
- The narrator refers to nature in order to...

Essay Tips: 25 Steps To A Good Essay

English Lit Essay Writing Tips

1. Use Succinct Point In Topic Sentence: Don't confuse the point or ramble, keep it short, concise and use your strongest point in the topic sentence. See if it makes sense on its own, outside of the essay.

2. Refer to 'Narrator' not Rossetti: Or use 'Rossetti's 1^st person persona'.

3. Integrate Quotes: Integrate them into your sentences then link to language analysis and EFFECTS!

E.g: '...her secret “today” because “it froze”...'

4. Always Prove Your Interpretation: Back up your personal interpretation with examples and quotes for every point. Don't make a point you cannot back-up.

5. Use Specifics! When referring to any poem.

6. Refer To 'Narrator's Attitudes': How does the narrator feel?

7. Show Understanding Of Narrative/Plot.

8. Exploratory Language, Not Explanatory: E.g: 'Possibly', 'perhaps'.

9. CONTEXT!!!!!

10. Don't Use Brackets.

11. Write Poem's Title Exactly How It's Written In The Poem.

12. Use Complex Interpretation & Vocabulary.

13. Don't Use Colloquial Language.

14. Use sets of 2 or 3 Descriptive/Similar Words In Topic Sentence.

15. Don't Define Words.

16. Don't Patronise.

17. Connotations: If all else fails for language analysis, refer to connotations.

18. Don't Generalise Context: E.g: Instead of saying 'not likely for a woman of the Victorian era' use 'not the stereotype' etc.
19. Don't Make Too Many Different Points In The Same Paragraph.

20. Don't Use Very Long Quotes.

21. Avoid 'Positive' and 'Negative'.

22. Avoid Repetition.

23. Write About Complex Poetic Issues: Such as metre, rhyme and explain their effects. Why has the poet used them, link rhyme/metre to context and the question.

24. Explore Both The Literal & Allegorical Meanings.

25. ANSWER THE ESSAY QUESTION!!!!!!!

Essay Tips: Linking Form To Effect

LINKING FORM TO EFFECT:

FORM:

-How the writer writes.

-How the reader may respond, reasons behind why the poet wrote this way.

-Term of address - refers to something.

-Firstly address form, then use synonyms then effect this = ANALYSIS.

KEY WORDS FOR LINKING:

-Highlights

-Foregrounds

-Draws attention to

-Suggests

-Emphasises

-Implies

-Conveys

-Portrays

-Instills X emotion

Initial Assessment Essay

So, after a few lessons of grappling with the musings of the great poets; we had to write an essay on Christina Rossetti's poem: 'No, Thank You, John' in one hour for our initial assessment.

"Discuss Rossetti's Portrayal of Relationships Between Men and Women. In Your Answer Explore The Author's Use of Language, Imagery and Verse Form". (500-800 Words).

PLAN:

INTRO: - Overview of Rossetti's views of feminism. 

               - Techniques: rhyme, structure is organised.

PARA 1: - Content, aim, theme. Like to relationship views.

                - Balanced by...

PARA 2: - Syntax, diction, rhyme + rhythm.

                 - Tie them all in with relationships theme and conventions of Victorian era (context).

PARA 3: - Imagery, form, tone, metre, mood, voice, viewpoint.

                 - Link to concepts, era, relationships!

CONC: - Overview: opinion on her portrayal of relationships. 

ESSAY:

Victorian England held various norms regarding the relationships between men and women. These deep-rooted ideals vastly affected Rossetti's poetry as her views varied from biblical principles to supporting feminism. 'No, Thank You, John' displays Rossetti rebelling against the traditional acceptance of marriage and oppression of women. These themes are elegantly portrayed through various poetic techniques such as organised stanza and rhyme structure to repetition and assonance; the poem is one of both personal and national change, as women received the right to vote; Rossetti became firm in her opinions regarding 'John'.

Content wise, the poem is simplistic; a spirited and feisty narrator turns down a suitor despite the Victorian conventions. However, the allegorical interpretation could be said to be exploring female identity and the power-play between men and women; as the narrator believes 'No fault of mine made me your toast' the use of both a strong 'No' and alliteration in this sentence convey the narrator's anger and sense of oppression from him persisting to 'haunt her'. A predominantly narrative genre assists this sense of female uprising, by liberating herself from 'John' the narrator is thus commenting on the empowerment of women in general during this time period: 'In open treaty. Rise above', Rossetti perhaps is addressing all women in this line. 

As a whole, 'No, Thank You, John' is a strikingly structured and organised poem in its punctuation, rhyme and form. Grammatically, a pattern can be seen; with colons and semi-colons in each stance, promoting a consistent tone: 'I never said I loved you, John:' not only does this introductory sentence introduce the reader, voice, viewpoint and characters, it also portrays the narrator's strength of will and assurity in her own opinions through this consistency. Rhyme is intelligently employed by Rossetti to further create this sense of structure, the rhyme scheme follows an ABAB pattern: 'John... day... upon ... pray' this could be seen to be almost belittling John's character through the repetitive rhythm, highlighting the narrator's spite. This conveys and imperative motif of immaturity within relationships. Lastly, form plays an integral role in Rossetti's character development as it once again shows the organised structure and the power of women, each stanza being 4 lines long and mostly consisting of one, fluid sentence created by enjambment: 'And wax a weariness to think upon/ with always...'. This technique instills a calm sensation in the reader, juxtaposing the narrator's initial anger; perhaps portraying how relationships are rife with confusion and dichotomies. 

Rossetti does not employ much imagery in 'No, Thank You, John' as the narrator's opinions stand firm on their own, the lack of imagery in fact amplifies these opinions. Diction, however, is utilised effectively to develop a mood of anger and frustration which then shifts to acceptance and strength in the final stanza. Vocabulary is an integral aspect of this poem, with the use of imperatives and the repetition of negative words: 'never... No... Haunt... don't... mar... strike...' these almost sinister words gradually transition into a more aloof tone: 'Quibbles and shuffling' showing the narrator's change in attitude. The diction also demonstrates the struggle - under male oppression - of women in the Victorian times as well as perhaps highlighting the intensity of emotions in relationships. Finally, the metre of the poem continues the theme of structure and organisation as each stanza follows the same syllabic pattern; this being that the first and second lines consist of four syllables followed by one line of iambic pentameter, then finally culminating in a line of three syllables. Not only does this create a pace and rhythm, it also once again displays the empowerment of women through the use of feminine syllable stresses.

Overall, Rossetti portrays her opinions of male-female relationships through subtle motifs of identity and power as well as exploring both Victorian marriage conventions and the right to female and male equality through structural verse forms and intense language choices. Just as relationships, 'No, Thank You, John' initially appears simplistic and mundane but, when analysed, is brimming with sinister undertones and powerful emotions. Rossetti doesn't hide behind pretension in this poem, she strips relationships bare and shows them for what they are. 

TEACHER'S FEEDBACK:

I received a C for this essay (16-20 marks out of 30), but it being an initial assessment of a poet we'd never studied I was pretty pleased. 

1. The context needs to be more specific.

2. Develop specific language analysis e.g: explore the feminine syllable stressed mentioned.

3. Plan it more, it was too chaotic when written.

4. Don't judge the poem e.g: 'Intelligently written'.

Poetry Induction

First lessons of English Literature AS level

After discussing what defines a poem and thinking about why people write and read poetry, we moved on to read several poems (Predominantly about childhood):

- 'I Come From' by Robert Seatter

- 'Blackberry-Picking' by Philip Hobsbaum

- 'Balloons' by Sylvia Plath 

- 'War Photographer' by Carol Ann Duffy

- 'I Am Very Bothered' by Simon Armitage

- 'I Am' by John Clare

- 'Brand New Ancients: a poem for London' by Kate Tempest

- 'In the Small Hours' by Wole Soyinka

- 'No, Thank You, John' by Christina Rossetti

As this was induction, exploring and analysing these poems was the perfect opportunity to get started on some basic terminology and thematic techniques, personally when working my way through these poems I used CATSDRIFT as we were taught to in iGCSE English. 

We were also taught basic tips for the exams as a way of starting us thinking about the end point of this year *Screams inwardly*.

1.Interpretation: 'Could/Perhaps/Seems to suggest'.

2.Evidence: (Use quotes and language analysis).

3.Attitudes/Emotions/Feelings.

4.Explorations: More than one.