'Shut Out' by Christina Rossetti

Shut Out

 Attitudes and Emotions:

The persona of the poem 'Shut Out' expresses various attitudes and emotions throughout the poem.

• distressed
• worried
• distraught
• frustrated
• longing 
• desperation
• isolated
• possessive
• ignored
• lonely
• scared
• feeling trapped
• grief
• a loss of hope

Language Analysis:

The poem is written in the first person - it uses a first person persona/narrator. This allows the reader to develop an emotional connection with the narrator. 

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THE TITLE: 

'Shut Out' is only a a fragment of a sentence. A sentence fragment is blunt, direct and straight to the point. This highlights the persona's frustration and anger, making her seem distraught in the eyes of the reader. The title can also be linked to the first sentence of the poem: "The door was shut." This is a simple sentence which extends the frustrated tone of the title.    

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FIRST STANZA: 

• Contrasting Adjectives: The persona uses contrasting adjectives throughout the first stanza: "iron bars" and "flowers bedewed and green". While iron has connotations of something that's hard, strong and cold, describing flowers as bedewed and green softens the image created and brings a feeling of innocence. This juxtaposition of adjectives describes the door (where the persona is standing) and what's beyond it, emphasising the feeling of longing felt by the persona.
• Iron Bars: The persona describes looking between the door's "iron bars" and hence compares it to the door of a prison cell. This puts an emphasis on how the persona feels trapped and also has connotations of lost hope.  
• Meter and Possessive Pronouns: The poem uses an iambic tetrameter, meaning that there are four iambic feet in each line. For example:"My gar/den, mine,/ beneath/ the sky"  The persona also uses several (first person) possessive pronouns such as "my" and "mine' throughout the poem. In the line above, the possessive pronoun "mine" is a stressed syllable which reinforces the narrator's possessive attitude. This word is also separated from the rest of the metrical line which puts emphasis on the idea that the garden belongs to her. The use of this caesura perhaps makes the persona seem obsessive or even selfish in the eyes of the reader as it reinforces the fact that the garden belongs to her, and her alone.
• Rhyme Scheme: The first stanza (as well as the rest of the poem) has an ABBA rhyme scheme which accentuates the overall tone the poem. The reader would expect the poem to be written in an out of control voice (as the persona is angry, frustrated and isolated) and therefore they'd expect the poem to have an irregular rhyme scheme or for it to be written in free verse. However this expectation contrasts how the poem is written which may seem unexpected.                                                               

SECOND STANZA:   

• Repetition: The repetition of the words "bough" and "flower" in the second stanza emphasise a feeling of longing, especially since these are the stressed syllables in the iambic feet.          "From bough/ to bough/ the song/-birds crossed, / From flower/ to flower/ the moths/ and bees;"  
•  Nature Motif: The recurring theme of nature is especially visible in the second stanza where the persona makes references to "song-birds", "trees", "moths and bees" and "nests" which all used to belong to her. These images linked to nature suggest a loss of innocence. The nature motif could also represent a new life (which is highlighted by the use of "buds" in the third stanza). Several aspects of the language used by the persona suggest that she is longing for a garden, so, in this alternative interpretation, this could be viewed as the persona desperately wanting a new life.
• Use of the Adjective "Stately": Stately can be defined as dignified, imposing or grand. The persona uses this adjective to describe trees which can be interpreted as the persona's way of acknowledging nature's superiority over humanity. This gives the reader the impression that the persona idolises nature, perhaps because even men are inferior to it. 
• The Juxtaposition of "Mine" and "Lost": In the last line of the second stanza, both "mine" and "lost" are stressed syllables within the metrical line: "It had/ been mine,/ and it/ was lost." These two contrasting descriptions of the garden create a juxtaposition which highlights the frustration and longing of the distraught persona. It also reinforces the idea of  property rights (or the lack of these rights) of women in the Victorian era.                                                              

THIRD STANZA: 

• Religious Language: In the third stanza the persona uses several nouns, such as "spirit" and "grave", which have religious connotations. This can be linked to Rossetti's devotion to her Anglo-Catholic faith. Alternately, this religious language hints at a profound interpretation of the poem in which the garden represents the Garden of Eden which humanity (Adam and Eve) was banished from. This suggests that the "garden" is a symbol of a loss of innocence. 
• The "Shadowless Spirit": The persona introduces the character of the "shadowless spirit" in the third stanza. The adjective "shadowless" makes the character seem supernatural to the reader, creating a sense of fear perhaps because the use of this adjective suggests that the spirit is invisible, therefore is more like a ghost than a soul. This gives the adjective connotations of death. Alternately, the adjective "shadowless" gives the reader the idea that the spirit may not actually exist, it merely being a figment of the persona's imagination. 
• "The Grave": With the use of a simile, the persona compares the spirit to a grave:                    "Blank and unchanging like the grave." This comparison the persona draws between the spirit and a grave amplifies the dark, gloomy and morbid tone of the first two lines. This may be because the noun has connotations of death, which adds to the sense of fear towards the supernatural creature that is the spirit. The grave, having this link to the idea of death and loss also contrasts the noun "buds" (referred to later on in the stanza) which often used to symbolise new life. This creates a juxtaposition which emphasises the persona's distress.
• "Outcast State": The persona describes having an "outcast state". The use of the adjective "outcast" emphasises her isolation while "state", an abstract  noun, hints at the idea that this isolation she feels is only temporary. However, being an abstract noun, a type of noun that refers to something a person cannot physically interact with, the use of "state" suggests that she cannot do anything about the isolation and loneliness she finds herself in.

FOURTH STANZA: 

•  The Use of a Masculine Personal Pronoun to describe the Spirit: The persona refers to the spirit using a masculine personal pronoun in the fourth stanza when she says "He answered not.". The character of the spirit is also the gate-keeper (the person who stops the persona from getting what she wants). Putting these two pieces of information to gather, the reader can see that the spirit is the character in the poem who hold all the power. This links to how the male gender dominated Victorian society.
•  Dialogue: The dialogue, spoken by the persona, consists of imperative sentences which reinforce her frustration. It is also notable that only the persona uses direct speech. The spirit never engages in the dialogue, he only uses indirect speech: "He answered not."  This amplifies his superiority as even without directly saying anything, his word carry more weight than the desperate plea of the persona.
•  Use of a Simple Sentence and Caesura: There is also a simplicity to the response the spirit gives which limits the extent to which the reader can get to know his character. Perhaps the persona does this to replicate the isolation she feels. This simplicity is brought about with the use of a simple sentence. The simple sentence "He answered not." emphasises the finality and coldness of the spirit's decision. Having a full-stop in the middle of a metrical line creates a pause which further amplifies this sense of finality conveyed by the simple sentence which precedes this punctuation. This caesura, almost like a pause allowing the persona to sigh, symbolises her hopelessness and loneliness - she might as well be talking to herself.                        

FIFTH STANZA: 

• Caesura: The use of a semi-colon, which follows the phrase "The spirit was silent", creates a break in the metrical line. This caesura reinforces that silence - a concept which has connotations of loneliness and isolation. 
• Man-made/Synthetic vs. Natural: The second line of the stanza "Mortar and stone to build a wall" contrasts the rest of the poem which is flooded with the recurring them of nature. The proportion of nature to man-made suggests the inferiority of mankind. However, the use of the noun "wall" carries connotations of seclusion, isolation and loneliness which is mirrored by the absence of the nature motif in fifth stanza. 
•  Use of the Adjective "Straining": The persona's use of the adjective "straining" to describe her eyes emphasises the desperation she feels.                                                                                  

SIXTH STANZA:   

• Change in Tense: In the sixth stanza the persona changes tenses. This is immediately visible through the use of the adverb "now" and the verb "sit" which is conjugated in the present tense. This change in tense suggests that the previous stanzas were just a story told by the persona to set the scene. In this stanza, the persona takes on a more resigned tone which creates a sense of acceptance. This explains why the poem has such a regular rhyme scheme and meter rather than an irregular, out-of-control structure that the reader would initially expect to come across.
•  Hyperbole: Describing the garden as her "land", emphasises the persona's love and longing for this place. This hyperbole is aided by the adjective "delightful" reinforces this love felt by the persona.                                                                                                                                         

SEVENTH STANZA:   

• The Use of the Feminine Personal Pronoun to Describe the Lark:  The persona uses the lark, a fragile songbird, to symbolise women when she refers to it's nest with the feminine possessive pronoun "her".  The fragility of this small bird reflects how women were viewed in the Victorian era. There is also a feeling of irony linked to this metaphor used to describe women because it implies that the nest belonged to the lark while Victorian women had virtually no property rights. This is illustrated by the fact that the possessive pronoun "her" is an unstressed syllable within the metrical line. Alternately, this could also be interpreted as Rossetti's ironic humour in which she hints that even animals have more property rights than Victorian women.
•  Parallel Lines: The last two lines of the seventh stanza and the poem are parallel lines as there is a repetition of words and of sentence structure: "And good they are, but not the best; / And dear they are, but not so dear." These parallel lines bring about a feeling of acceptance which suggests to the reader that the persona has come to terms with her fate.

What is the narrative used as a vehicle to illustrate?

Rossetti's poetry is often allegorical. There are several interpretations of the profound meaning of the poem 'Shut Out'.

• Being locked out of heaven: Here, the "garden" represents the Garden of Eden and the "iron bars" symbolise the Gates of Heaven. There are several words throughout the poem, such as "spirit", which carry religious connotations.
• Social status of women in the Victorian era: In this interpretation the garden symbolises a wonderful place that is controlled by men. It is what is good in society and women are forbidden to enter the "garden".
• Freedom: According to this interpretation, the "garden" represents a woman's freedom from male ownership (which is taken away from them once she gets married to a man).
• Losing someone close: Here, the persona is mourning after a loved one she lost - perhaps a family member who died or a lover who left her. The garden may represent a man she was in love with or a relationship she misses. 

Example Paragraph:

   Rossetti’s first person persona draws attention to the theme of possession and power in ‘Shut Out’ by using possessive pronouns throughout the poem. The use of “mine” in the third line of the poem’s first stanza puts an emphasis on the idea that the garden belongs to her, especially since that one word is separated from the rest of the metrical line. The use of this caesura perhaps makes the persona seem obsessive or even selfish in the eyes of the reader as it highlights the fact that the garden belongs to her, and her alone. Assuming that the persona is a woman, this interpretation of the poem reflects the question surrounding the property rights of women in the Victorian era. According to the December 10 issue of ‘Englishwoman’s Review’ published in 1859, the condition of women is “scarcely better than that of infants an slaves” as far as far as the right to possess and dispose of property is concerned because “all they have is their husband’s”. This leaves us to believe that women of the Victorian era, just like the persona, often became very possessive over things which they could (or used to be able to) call their own as they effectively belonged to their husbands.

Contextual Research:

British Women's Emancipation Since the Renaissance

Gender Roles in the 19th Century

British History - Victorians

In Our Time: Christina Rossetti