the world Flashcards
what is the context of the poem?
Published in 1862 alongside Goblin Market, sharing similar themes on society.
Written in 1854, after Rossetti’s broken engagement to James Collinson, when she was 24.
Preceded her volunteer work with fallen women at St. Mary Magdalene Penitentiary (began in 1859).
Reflects Victorian concerns about prostitution and morality.
Themes of religious righteousness show the influence of her faith.
what are the subjects and interpretations of this poem?
The poem expresses Rossetti’s worldview through a male speaker describing his lover, using an extended metaphor where the world is a woman.
Contrasts romantic, innocent love with erotic desire, using night and day as symbols.
Presents sexual desire as the truth behind love, while innocence is a deceptive illusion—subverting traditional literary tropes.
Suggests worldly pleasures not derived from God are immoral and should be renounced, reflecting Rossetti’s strict religious mindset.
what is the speaker and language of this poem?
Imagery of femininity: The world is depicted as a seductress—soft, beautiful, and deceptive.
Monstrous imagery: The world is a hybrid creature (like Medusa or Satan), becoming more threatening after the volta.
The world is linked to the devil, Eve, and the serpent, symbolizing sin and temptation.
Natural imagery: Used to contrast purity and corruption.
what is the rhyme/form of this poem?
Petrarchan sonnet:
Octave (ABBAABBA) presents the world’s dual nature (day/night).
Sestet (CDCEDE) breaks conventional rhyme schemes, reflecting the speaker’s rejection of erotic sin.
what is the poem’s meter?
Mostly iambic pentameter, but lines 3 and 14 are trochaic—disrupting rhythm to symbolize corruption.
Trochaic meter (stressed-unstressed) contrasts with iambic (unstressed-stressed), marking a disruption.
what is the shift after the Volta? how does this impact the poem?
The world is exposed as deceptive (“by day she stands a lie”).
Increased enjambment quickens the pace, heightening intensity.
Subversion of the sonnet form:
Traditionally used for romantic love, here it condemns lust and worldly temptations.
Could reflect Rossetti’s devotion to God over earthly love.
what are the themes of the poem?
Contrast between romantic, innocent love and erotic desire.
Sin, deception, and temptation.
what poems could this be compared to?
Maude clare, apple gathering, goblin market
“by day she woos me, soft, exceeding fair:/but all night as the moon so changeth she;”
Opposites: beauty/ugliness, night/day, innocence/desire—symbolizing good vs. evil.
Extended metaphor: The world as a woman, representing sin and materialism.
Gender role reversal: A woman wooing a man.
Anaphora (“by day”): Emphasizes false safety in daylight, while true danger emerges at night.
“loathsome and foul with hideous leprosy,/and subtle serpents gliding in her hair.”
Lexical field of horror: Creates revulsion, showing Rossetti’s absolutist moral stance.
Full stop at the end: Mirrors the abrupt shift in the woman’s nature from day to night.
Biblical & mythological references:
Medusa: Transformed into a monster after sexual violence.
Serpent: Satan tempting Eve.
Sibilance: Mimics the sound of a snake, reinforcing deception.
“by day she woos me to the outer air,/ripe fruits, sweet flowers, and full satiety:/”
Nature imagery: Suggests purity and innocence.“Sweet flowers”: Paradoxical—describes something untrustworthy, reflecting the speaker’s skepticism.
“Satiety”: The world appears satisfied but is later revealed to have an insatiable desire.
“but through the night, a beast she grins at me,/a very monster void of love and prayer./”
The world transforms into a predatory, beastly figure at night.
Sinister imagery: Woman as a grinning beast, subverting traditional gender roles.
Religious meaning: A godless monster, linking sin and lust.
Volta: Marks the revelation that the world is deceptive and cannot be trusted.
“by day she stands a lie: by night she stands,/in all the naked horror of the truth,/”
Direct dichotomy: Daylight conceals sin, night reveals it.
“Stands” (antanaclasis):
First: To tell a lie.
Second: To physically stand—suggesting the lie of innocence in Victorian society.
Caesura (colon): Creates a stark contrast between the deception of day and the horror of night.
“Truth”: Associated with vulnerability and ugliness—society avoids it, prioritizing beauty and materialism.
“with pushing horns and clawed and clutching hands./is this a friend indeed;
Demonic imagery: The world is likened to the devil, reinforcing its sinful nature.
Polysyndeton (“and” repeated): Intensifies the horror of the beast.
Enjambment: Speeds up the sestet, mirroring the corruption spreading.
Rhetorical question: The speaker questions whether the world is truly a friend, highlighting deception.
that I should sell my soul to her, give her my life and youth,/till my feet, cloven too, take hold on hell?”
“Sell my soul”: Monetary metaphor—critiques capitalism and materialism.
“My feet, cloven too”: Suggests transformation into a demon, paralleling the consequences of yielding to sin.
“Take hold on hell”: Shows the finality of moral corruption.
what aspect of society does the poem criticise?
society’s obsession with materialism and sensual pleasures.
