"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'.
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