Echo

Question 1

come

Answer 1

come to me

The repetition of the word ‘come’ — the device anaphora — shows the protagonist’s need and desperation for the loved-one. The imperative ‘Come to me’ suggests that the protagonist has hoped and prayed for a long time that the loved-one would join them, but has been unable to do so. The speaker is now demanding their presence.

Question 2

silence

Answer 2

in the silence of the night;
Come in the speaking silence of a dream;

The tone is one of longing throughout. From the first repetition of the word ‘come’ to the final expression of desire that the speaker can breathe life back into the beloved, the speaker’s attention is focused solely on his/her love. Night-time is often associated with enhanced feelings of sadness or sexual yearning. Longing is expressed through the repeated call to the beloved and language associated with desire, as in ‘silence of the night’ and ‘soft rounded cheeks’. Despite projecting this feeling onto souls in paradise, it seems that it is the fulfilment of the speaker’s own ‘thirsting longing eyes’ that is of greatest concern.

Question 3

abide

Answer 3

Whose wakening should have been in Paradise,
Where souls brimful of love abide and meet;
Where thirsting longing eyes

It is an unusual idea to portray souls in Paradise as suffering unsatisfied longing, rather than peace and bliss.

Question 4

door

Answer 4

slow door - echo

Rossetti frequently uses the imagery of a door as a route to heaven or happiness. Her poem Shut Out is a prime example. This door is ‘slow’; the reunion of souls isn’t achieved quickly.

Question 5

opening

Answer 5

That opening, letting in, lets out no more.

The two related clauses ‘letting in’ and its opposite ‘lets out no more’ form a rhythmic balanced, but opposing pair, a device known as chiasmus

Question 6

lean

Answer 6

Speak low, lean low,
As long ago, my love, how long ago!

‘Lean low is a reference to the Greek myth of Narcissus, who gazed and fell in love with his reflection in the water.

The elongated vowels and alliterative ‘l’s give this line a lingering sweetness, as if the speaker has achieved a resolution in her imagination.

The last line, however, is sad and poignant. One ‘long ago’ echoing the other, suggests a yearning to die and be reunited with the spirit in Paradise.