some ladies dress Flashcards
What is the structure of the poem?
The poem is a 14 line Petrarchan sonnet with a disrupted form.
First 8 lines follow the ABBAABBA rhyme scheme, while the next 6 lines follow a CDEECD pattern.
What is the context of this poem (age and composition date)?
Written in 1848 when Rossetti was 18 years old. Reflecting youthful criticism of societal norms.
What themes are present in the poem?
Gender, Materialism, and Envy.
What is the effect of the poem’s unusual rhythm?
a jogging and jaunty effect, contrasting with the serious subject matter.
“Some ladies dress in muslin full and white,/some gentlemen in cloth succinct and black;”
‘white’ - purity, innocence, virginity, “black” contrasts.
Tone = wittily contemptuous.
‘succinct and black’ suggests ‘gentlemen’s’ self-conscious attention to image (dandyism).
Listing of fashions – contempt, against it. Full skirt – accentuating figure, link to Victorian values of sexualisation. Muslin – semantic field of wealth, by wearing muslin, transport – temporal delights that Rossetti didn’t agree with
“some patronise a dog – cart, some a hack,/some think a painted clarence only right.”
Sarcastic tone — ‘Some think …. only right.’ Criticism of materialism through fussing over carriages. ‘hack’ and ‘clarence’ are horse-drawn carriages, symbolizing frivolity. The list escalates in grandeur. The first stanza’s alternate rhyme scheme reinforces this theme.
“youth is not always such a pleasing sight,”
Spoken by an 18-year-old Rossetti. Shows intelligence and non-conformity. She criticizes young people as indulgent, gluttonous, and vain.
“witness a man with tassels on his back;/or a woman in a great-coat like a sack/towering above her sex with horrid height”
Critique of Victorian fashion and gender roles. ‘Tassels’ suggest absurdity and femininity. ‘Towering’ links to masculinity, possibly queer theory (masculinity = homosexuality?). ‘Horrid height’ alliteration emphasizes repulsion. Critiques both passive female roles and certain feminist trends. The tall woman might be lesbian, but her ‘mannishness’ repels the poet. ‘Sack’ suggests unfemininity. A volta (turn) introduces a new idea.
“if all the world were water fit to drown/ there are some whom you would not teach to swim,/ Rather enjoying if you saw them sink;”
Links to Noah’s Ark (Genesis 7:1) – sinners drowned, righteous saved. Violent imagery subverts Christian morality. Could reflect the speaker’s youth and inexperience. Satire grows more vicious.
certain old ladies dressed in girlish pink,/with roses and geraniums on their gown: -“
Critique of vanity. Previously fixated on youth, now on aging women trying to recapture youth. White muslin (worn by young ladies) seems preferable to ‘certain old ladies’ in floral gowns, which symbolize empty-headed frivolity.
“go to the bason, poke em o’er the rim. – “
The rhyme scheme is disrupted—‘rim’ rhymes with ‘swim’ five lines earlier, not in a couplet, creating an unsettling effect. Single-line resolution suggests the speaker sees a simple solution others don’t. ‘Basin’ is capitalized for ironic weight, turning a washing-up bowl into a symbol. ‘Poke them o’er the rim’ is both cruel and humorous—social cleansing. Possible baptismal or Noah’s Ark reference, cleansing society of the impure.
what poem would you compare it to on the theme of gender/envy?
the world, apple gathering, Maude clare, piteous my rhyme is
