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