Comparision of Song and Remember

"Compare and contrast how Rossetti shows her views on death and the after-life in the poems 'Song' and 'Remember'.

During the Victorian era, the mortality rate was much higher than it is today so therefore, death made a huge impact on a Victorian's life. In consequence of this, there were a number of unusual rituals Victorians used for funerals, such as the body being watched over every minute before the burial, which is reflected in 'Song'. Victorians also had strange mourning customs, such as black ribbons being hung from front doors, which is reflected in both poems as the main themes are mourning. Both poems imply the idea that the atferlife is silent and devoid of action. This directly reflects Rossetti's views on death as she personally believed in 'soul sleeping'; she thought that when you die your soul sleeps until the rebirth of Jesus Christ at whence you reawaken. Rossetti was influenced by mortality at an early age when her father was diagnosed with tuberculosis when she was thirteen years old. Despite the fact that he lived another 13 years, he was unable to work and her mother had to work to provide for the family while her older sister became a governess- a fate that Rossetti detested for herself. You need to nail the question in the last line of the introduction

Firstly, 'Song' shows Rossetti's strong Christian view on the after-life through the line "That doth not rise nor set" in the second stanza. The notion of resting in a place where the "rise nor set" of the sun is not necessary comes from John in the New Testament book, Revelation. This reflects Rossetti's Christian beliefs as she is referencing the bible which implies she has strong faith in God and feels more at peace with the idea of death as she is confident with her opinion of the after-life. Rossetti uses iambic trimeter perfectly here which infers that even though the persona's loved one cannot count on life to be predictable, the rising and setting of the sun can be depended on everyday. Furthermore, the steady rhythm and biblical reference implies that in times of trouble Rossetti felt she could always depend on her religion to help her get through her woes. You need to connect this to your thesis in the introduction where the afterlife is 'silent and devoid of action' as Rossetti isn't talking about religion Similarly, Rossetti also uses iambic meter in 'Remember' to reflect her views on death and the after-life. Rossetti uses iambic pentameter in the line "It will be late to counsel then or pray" about halfway through the poem. The persona in this poem shows a slightly different view on the after-life as they are inferring that religion cannot help them when they are dead because it will be too "late" to "pray" for them as they would have already been judged whether they deserve to go to Heaven or Hell. The verb "counsel" implies that the persona had acted improper some time in their life and the person the persona is addressing doesn't trust them to make their own decisions without advice. The Victorians had a strict set of social rules so an action that may seem like nothing to a modern reader would be viewed as scandalous to a contemporary reader such as women showing any skin above the ankle.

Secondly, both poems show Rossetti's view that people can find closure from death. In 'Song', the persona orders her loved one to "Sing no sad songs for me" in the first stanza. Even though most of the poem has an iambic trimeter, Rossetti changes this line to trochaic which puts the stress onto the imperative verb "Sing". The disrupt in the rhythm of the poem implies that the loved one's life will lose its rhythm and meaning when the persona passes away. However, "Sing" is an imperative verb

Overall: You need to work on the structure of your argument within your paragraphs

Helpful websites

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/a-level/english-literature/unseen-poetry-a-single-poem/revise-it/rhyme

I was revising rhyming used in poems. This helped with analysis of poems e.g alliteration, assonance

Teachers notes added to Initial Assessment 17/09/15

Discuss Rossetti's portrayal of relationships between men and women.

In the Victorian era men were seen as more dominant than women and therefore had the most control in the relationship. However, Rossetti portrays the woman as being more dominant. This is shown when the title "No, Thank You, John" is repeated at the end of the poem. This portrays the woman as having more control over the man in the relationship as the poem begins with a rejection which is then emphasised by the phrase being repeated at the end. This symbolises that "John" had no chance from the start and shouldn't continue to try. On the other hand, because the persona has to repeat her rejection, this implies to the reader that "John" is very stubborn, therefore undermining her sense of power, and the repetition infers that "John" has been rejected before but hasn't given up yet. Rossetti is implying that men didn't have a lot of respect for women's opinions even if they were in relationships with them.

Rossetti implies that women were exasperated by the behaviour of men and didn't always respect them even though they were expected to. This is shown in the first stanza when the persona quotes John through "do" and "pray"; this infers the persona doesn't feel much respect for John as she is doing an impersonation of him. This is further implying that women were exasperated by men's behaviour as she is making fun of the things he says and believes he is stupid. This portrays women as confident and determined to not get outspoken by men. The verb "pray" implies that John tried to persuade the persona to marry him by saying that's what a proper Christian would do; also, "pray" was a term of politeness in the Victorian era so John could be suggesting that the persona is rude to keep turning him down which makes the reader think he's very egotistical. However, by rejecting him, the persona is showing she has more power in their relationship and doesn't let his views control her.

On the other hand, Rossetti also portrays the relationship between men and women as equal. In the second stanza, the persona says "No fault of mine made me your toast" which shows she knew how pleased John would be if she married him but still said no as she valued her own opinion. Furthermore, the word "toast" shows that John went around boasting about having her when she hadn't even agreed yet. This symbolises how women belonged to their husbands or fathers in the Victorian era as John feels he can go round saying whatever he wants about her without asking for her opinion. As this was the general view in the Victorian era, a contemporary reader would think nothing of this view and would have experienced the consequences themselves. However, a modern reader would be horrified that men viewing another person as property was normal. Despite this, Rossetti portrays their relationship as equal when the persona says "No fault of mine" as she is not allowing John to make decisions for her. She refuses to allow John to view her as property as she's saying that just because John likes her doesn't make her his when she doesn't return his feelings.

However, even though Rossetti portrays the woman to be more dominant than the man, she still shows that men's opinions were considered more important at the time. This is shown through the rhythm of the poem. In the first three stanzas, when it's just the persona talking, the rhythm is steady. However, as soon as John starts talking, the rhythm  breaks up in the first line of the fourth stanza "I have no heart?- Perhaps I have not". This implies that John got fed up of listening to her talk and started to interrupt because he didn't respect her. This symbolises the power imbalance as what women had to say was viewed as unimportant so John isn't allowing the persona to have her say. The rhetorical question "I have no heart?" has an incredulous tone which implies that the persona thinks that John said something stupid. Furthermore, this infers that the reason for why the rhythm of the poem gets interrupted here is because the persona is stopping speaking in amazement that John would interrupt her explaining her feelings because he thought his were more important.

In the poem, Rossetti portrays the persona as a strong figure in the relationship. This is shown in the second to last stanza when she suggests "Let us strike hands as hearty friends". This portrays her as a strong figure as shaking "hands" with someone is a very masculine action. Furthermore, by suggesting they stay "friends" it shows she is in control of the nature of their relationship. This is also controversial to Victorian etiquette as it would be contentious for a single man and woman to spend time alone together unless for romantic reasons.

The ABAB rhyming scheme gives the poem a lighter tone. This implies that the persona doesn't care about John that much and his proposal hasn't impacted her life that much. It also consolidates the impression she gives of being in total control as a proposal has the potential to affect her whole life but she has remained strong and not let it sway her. Furthermore, Rossetti portrays men as persistent and prideful as "John" is a very common name which means the character could be representing masculinity. Therefore, this is a very feminist view as this could symbolise the persona rejecting all men. In her life, Rossetti rejected three suitors because they didn't fit with her religious beliefs so by writing a poem about a woman vehemently rejecting a man due to her own preference, Rossetti could be encouraging women to make their own decisions and not let men's views dominate their lives. 

Maude Clare 16/09/15

Maude Clare

Plot:

In the poem, Lord Thomas represents higher class masculinity, Lady Nell represents higher class femininity and Maude Clare represents the lower class. Thomas marries Nell but he describes her as "a village maid" compared to Maude Clare who he said "was like a queen". Thomas and Maude Clare are in love but Thomas cannot marry her as he is expected to marry someone from the upper class, like Nell. Maude Clare marches into the church and describes how she and Thomas are in love but Nell tells her that she has Thomas and will keep him- not Maude Clare.

Character Study:

Maude Clare is deeply in love with Thomas and she walks proudly into the church where he is marrying Nell. Her tone is bittersweet and reminiscent when talking about the memories she and Thomas share; they are obviously happy memories but she is sad because her class is preventing her from true happiness. The reminiscent tone implies a finality as which shows Maude Clare knows they can never be together so she is giving Thomas up. Maude Clare is a very dominant character as she ensures she gets her opinion across and isn't afraid to stand up for herself.

Rossetti's Point About Class System:

The theme of the poem is heartbreak because two people who love each other are unable to get married. The blame for this falls on the Victorian class system which Rossetti symbolises the inequality of. Her character Maude Clare is controversial to a stereotypical lower class girl. This is because she is a very dominating character as she stops a higher class wedding (which would have been an important event) just to get her point across. Rossetti is showing that lower class people have opinions which are just as important as the higher class' and their voices should be heard too. Furthermore, Rossetti shows Maude Clare is a very powerful character as her words make Lord Thomas stutter and therefore powerless which is ironic as Lord Thomas is higher class so he should have all the power.
The way Rossetti represents Maude Clare and Nell is controversial too. In the first stanza, Nell is described as "a village maid" even though she is higher class and Maude Clare is described as "a queen" even though she has the least power out of the two. Rossetti has switched their roles in society to show that everyone is equal despite their classes. Nell describes Maude Clare as "taller" and "much more fair" which shows even though in society lower class people have the least power, Maude Clare is naturally more powerful. Therefore, from Darwin's theory, Maude Clare should have the most mates as she's the strongest but as this doesn't happen, Rossetti is showing that the Victorian class system is unnatural.