No, thank you, John Flashcards
Heart
‘I have no heart?-Perhaps I have not;
But then you’re mad to take offense’
The ababcdcd rhyme scheme mimics the ordered, certain voice of the speaker, her conclusion inevitable. The form of a dramatic monologue allows the narrator to have a single, independent voice, and the reported speech further enforces this - it appears that the male has no voice of his own, suggesting that his opinions don’t matter. This is a clear criticism of masculine dominance, with Rossetti acting against Victorian conventions of women being submissive. The narrator further appears sarcastic in her reply, using impeccable logic to turn his arguments around, and this ridicule of him allows the narrator to assert herself, showing that it is her opinions, and feelings, that matter.
Wan
Treaty
‘haunt me with a face as wan / As an hour-old ghost’
‘In open treaty…Here’s friendship for you if you like; but love - No, thank you, John’
Rossetti’s lexical choice demonstrates the emptiness of masculine dominance - ‘wan’, ‘haunt’, ‘ghost’ - as if he attempts to assert himself on her, but simply haunts her with reminder’s of what a patriarchal society expected from women - this indicates that Rossetti is encouraging the Victorian society to let go of traditional gender conventions, and embrace equality instead. In the last stanza the narrator encourages an ‘open treaty’, perhaps a metaphor for fairness between the genders, and this may be Rossetti’s appeal to Victorians, after all, she did argue for better representation of women in Parliament indicating her desire for equality. By offering ‘friendship’, and rejecting ‘love’, Rossetti indicates the women should no longer be defined by their relationship status, and their supposed need to be a wife. The very title of the poem suggests that it is her choice, and women shouldn’t be forced into anything.
