remembre Flashcards
Q: What is the main theme of Remember?
A: The poem explores themes of love, loss, memory, and acceptance of death.
Q: How is Remember structured?
A: The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet (14 lines), divided into an octave (first 8 lines) and a sestet (final 6 lines), following the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA CDECDE.
Q: What is the significance of the repeated word “Remember”?
A: It emphasizes the speaker’s initial desire to be remembered after death, reinforcing the theme of memory and loss.
Q: How does Rossetti present the inevitability of death?
A: She uses phrases like “Gone far away into the silent land” to create a sense of peaceful acceptance rather than fear.
Q: What is the meaning of “silent land”?
A: It serves as a metaphor for death, suggesting a calm, unknown afterlife rather than one of suffering.
Q: How does the poet contrast remembering and forgetting?
A: In the octave, she asks to be remembered, but in the sestet, she tells her loved one it is okay to forget if remembering causes pain: “Better by far you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad.”
Q: What is the effect of the line “Yet if you should forget me for a while / And afterwards remember, do not grieve”?
A: It reflects the speaker’s selflessness, showing her concern for the emotional well-being of the loved one left behind.
Q: How does Rossetti use iambic pentameter in the poem?
A: The steady rhythm reflects the calm and contemplative tone of the speaker’s message about death and memory.
Q: How does Rossetti portray love in the poem?
A: Love is shown as enduring yet gentle, as the speaker prioritizes the happiness of the loved one over being remembered.
Q: How does Remember compare to Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night?
A: While Remember encourages peaceful acceptance of death, Do Not Go Gentle urges resistance and fighting against it.
Q: What is the impact of the shift in tone in the sestet?
A: The tone changes from a plea for remembrance to an acceptance of forgetting, highlighting the speaker’s emotional maturity and love.
Q: What role does enjambment play in the poem?
A: The flowing lines mimic the continuous passage of time, reinforcing the inevitability of both life and death.
Q: How does the poem reflect Victorian attitudes toward death?
A: It aligns with Victorian ideas of mourning and remembrance, yet also presents a progressive view by suggesting that grief should not be overwhelming.
