Piteous My Rhyme Is Flashcards
What is ‘Piteous My Rhyme Is’ about? (3 points)
This poem presents two antithetical views of love
The first stanza is negative as it refers to wasted love for human lovers
The second is positive and optimistic as it refers to God’s love
What is the form and structure of ‘Piteous My Rhyme Is’? (4 points)
The poem comprises two stanzas of ten lines each (dectets)
The lines are, characteristically, of uneven length, but made up mostly of iambs
The syllable count in each line of the first stanza — for example, line one six syllables, line two eight syllables etc — is exactly matched in the second
A complex ABBB CA DDDC.
rhyme scheme is used in both stanzas
What are the languages and devices used in ‘Piteous My Rhyme Is’? (4 points)
The voice is that of a first person narrator who may be the poet
She addresses the reader in a way that might be false modesty, but the tone is intelligent and thoughtful
The abstract ideas about love are complex - personified and not set a definition
With a few exceptions, the poem is almost entirely monosyllabic
How does ‘Piteous My Rhyme Is’? link to Rossetti’s other poems?
It links to Memory and Twice - both juxtapose human love with God’s love
What is the relevant context for ‘Piteous My Rhyme Is’? (3 points)
Published in 1893
Same year Rossetti developed breast cancer and had the tumour removed
The disease returned the following year and she died in December 1894
