Remember Flashcards
remember
“remember me”
repeated (refrain) - as if in fear
far
“Gone far away into the silent land”
silent land - euphemistic metaphor (“do not grieve”) - Anglo-Catholetism: death = new beginnings not finality. GONE FAR - spondee emotional weight. GONE far - trochee - lightheated. death v serious in Victorian times
hand
“When you can no more hold me by the hand,”
euphenism, marriage vows (MC) the idea of “till death do us part”
last remember?
no prnoun of “me” the idea of no more “me” - connection no longer personal and intense
MC - me best of all
“Only remember me; you understand”
semi-colon - caesura, distance, seperating pronouns, “only” - “do not grieve”
pray
“It will be late to counsel then or pray.”
does not share John Newman’s belief in validity of prayers for the dead.
Anglican belief to not pray for the dead
effectt of last six lines
The tone of the last six lines, the sestet, is contemplative; the speaker is reconciled to death. Here, the volta or ‘turn’ introduces a subtle change of mood, emphasised with the internally rhymed ‘Yet’ and ‘forget’.
Rossetti’s understanding
Rossetti had an astute understanding of the process of grieving, where a mourner has moments of relief, but then feels guilty for being happy for a short while. The poet accepts that this will happen and prefers to spare him the pain of guilt.
alternative view
Maybe deep down she actually does want her lover to remember her in death? There’s an ambiguity in the final line.
depression
Rossetti struggled with depression and understood profound sadness, and therefore wanted to spare her lover such pain.
sad
“Than that you should remember and be sad.”
The poem ends, however, in peace and acceptance. The simple rhyme of ‘had’ and ‘sad’ gives a feeling of resolution and completeness.
