Christina Rossetti Poetry Analysis (AS English Literature): 'Remember' by Christina Rossetti

Attitudes Expressed in the Poem:

melancholy (quiet, contemplative sadness)
hopeful
selfless
romantic (love poem?)
acceptance - resigned tone
consoling
calm - confident
nostalgic (remembrance of a happy moment tinged with sadness) - sentimental
self aware - acceptance
tolerant (about death) - tolerates/understands the fact that she'll be forgotten
self-assurance (inner strength)

Form and Structure:

'Remember' is a sonnet and therefore has 14 lines divided into an octet (the first 8 lines) and sestet (the last 6 lines) by a volta.
The volta signifies a change in the subject matter and rhyme scheme of 'Remember'.
In poetry, the volta, or turn, is a rhetorical shift or dynamic change in thought and/or emotion.
The Octet:

Subject Matter - Addressee should remember the persona after she's gone. This helps the addressee deal with the persona's death.
Rhyme Scheme: ABBAABBA

The Sestet:

Subject Matter - It's more important for the addressee to be happy than for the persona to be remembered. This means that the addressee should forget the persona if it makes him happier (makes dealing with her death easier) to forget her. This reinforces the sense of acceptance that the persona carries with her throughout the sonnet.
Rhyme Scheme: CDDECE

Rhyme Scheme: ABBAABBACDDECE
Meter: Iambic Pentameter (five iambic metrical feet per line)
The sonnet uses a direct address which means that the first person persona (or the voice of the poem) is talking to an addressee. This allows the reader to develop an emotional connection with the persona. This is evident in the third line of the sonnet: "When you can no more hold me by the hand,".

Language Analysis:

Lexis: The persona uses high frequency lexis so the sonnet is easy to understand. These word choices are therefore direct and straight to the point which suggests the persona's blunt acceptance towards her inevitable fate.
Euphemisms: Euphemisms are the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh or blunt. The persona uses some figurative expressions such as "gone away", "silent land" and "darkness and corruption" to substitute words and ideas linked to the sensitive subject of death. In a way, euphemisms are used as a coping mechanism for the theme of death both by the persona and the addressee.
Lack of Figurative Expressions: However, there is a lack of these figurative expressions in the sonnet reinforcing the reality of the situation, the reality of the persona's rapidly approaching death.
Repetition of Title: The repetition of the title, ‘Remember’, throughout the poem gives it a melancholic tone as this verb often has connotations of loss and grief. Therefore it may remind the reader of a memorial ceremony or funeral. There is also a notable difference between the octet and the sestet of the sonnet which can be directly linked to the contrasting emotions and attitudes expressed in either section of the sonnet. Before the volta, there is a repetition of the phrase “remember me” which demonstrates to the reader that the persona wants to be remembered by the addressee. On the other hand, in the sestet this repeated phrase is shortened to simply “remember”. Here the persona is no longer telling her lover to remember her, but repeats this imperative verb to instruct the addressee to forget her after she is gone. This creates a sense of irony which causes the reader to question why Rossetti titled the poem ‘Remember’ if the persona wishes to be forgotten.
Significance of Title: The title of the sonnet is tinged with a sense of irony as it causes the reader to question why Rossetti titled the poem ‘Remember’ if the persona wishes to be forgotten.
Caesurae: The persona uses caesurae to give the poem a consoling tone. These breaks in the metrical line create a pause which reinforce the reassurance of the words that follow. For example:

"Only remember me; you understand"
"And afterwards remember, do not grieve:"

Themes In Common with 'Song':

Death
The Idea of a Person's Legacy
Remembrance/Forgetting Someone

Example Paragraph:

The repetition of the title, ‘Remember’, throughout the poem gives it a melancholic tone. Perhaps this is because this verb often has connotations of loss and grief, and therefore may remind the reader of a memorial ceremony or funeral. There is also a notable difference between the octet and the sestet of the poem which can be directly linked to the contrasting emotions and attitudes expressed in either section of the sonnet. Before the volta, there is a repetition of the phrase “remember me” which demonstrates to the reader that the persona wants to be remembered by the addressee. This may initially be interpreted as the poem’s narrator longing to leave behind a legacy through the person they addressed this poem to. However, the persona becomes very nostalgic in these first eight lines of the sonnet where she recalls fond memories, such as when the she “half turn[ed] to go yet turning stay”. This gives the reader the impression that Rossetti’s first person persona wants the addressee, who in this context is suggested to be a lover, to remember these memories they shared to help them deal with the persona’s fast approaching death. This nostalgic attitude, especially when the persona mentions their “future” which they planned together but will never have, highlights the quiet, contemplative sadness woven into every line by the persona. On the other hand, in the sestet this repeated phrase is shortened to simply “remember”. Here the persona is no longer telling her lover to remember her, but repeats this imperative verb to instruct the addressee to forget her after she is gone. This creates a sense of irony which causes the reader to question why Rossetti titled the poem ‘Remember’ if the persona wishes to be forgotten. At the same time, the idea that the persona finds it more important for her lover to be happy than for her to be remembered causes the reader to sympathise with the persona. This consequently develops an emotional connection between the reader and the persona.