Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land; When you can no more hold me by the hand, Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay. Remember me when no more day by day You tell me of our future that you planned: Only remember me; you understand It will be late to counsel then or pray. Yet if you should forget me for a while And afterwards remember, do not grieve: For if the darkness and corruption leave A vestige of the thoughts that once I had, Better by far you should forget and smile Than that you should remember and be sad.
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Christina Rossetti’s Best Poem
Thursday, 9 Sept 2021, 00:52
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One for her brother, yes, I am still slightly obsessed with popular music
A beautiful poem Richard.
The name reminds me of the art of the nineteenth century and certain popular music of the twentieth century.
The single, More Than This (Ferry), Roxy Music (1982), included a reproduction of a Dante Gabriel Rossetti painting. I have it, somewhere...
J.
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Hi Richard,
I remember you, in a previous post, pondering as to whether the opening four lines of Shakespeare's sonnet 71 could have inspired Rosetti's opening four lines in her beautiful sonnet. I remember studying some of Rosetti's work during one of my modules and this sonnet seems vaguely familiar to me. I've found that while studying literature it is much more to difficult to appreciate its richness than when I can read it at ease, because of time pressure to assimilate, to analyse and to write.
The line Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay always seems to me to be beautifully crafted. It contains, for me, images of emotional turmoil, quick decision making yet gentle physical movement, which, contrasts gently with the swirling inner life.
I remember reading in a book by, I think, Jacqueline Rose that Rosetti had such a degree of inner turmoil that she, at times, used to break out in a skin condition, the name of which I can't recall. This book merely mentioned Rosetti in the context of a wide scope of other subjects but I remember the effect this little piece of information had on me because of, I suspect, the impact her poetry had subconsciously had on me.
Very interesting posting,
Joseph.
CORRECTIONS
I remember you, in a previous post, pondering as to whether the opening four lines of Shakespeare's sonnet 71 could have inspired Rossetti's opening four lines in her beautiful sonnet. I remember studying some of Rossetti's work during one of my modules and this sonnet seems vaguely familiar to me. I've found that while studying literature it is much more
todifficult to appreciate its richness than when I can read it at ease, because of time pressure to assimilate, to analyse and to write.The line Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay always seems to me to be beautifully crafted. It contains, for me, images of emotional turmoil, quick decision making yet gentle physical movement, which, contrasts gently with the swirling inner life.
I remember reading in a book by, I think, Jacqueline Rose that Rossetti had such a degree of inner turmoil that she, at times, used to break out in a skin condition, the name of which I can't recall. This book merely mentioned Rossetti in the context of a wide scope of other subjects but I remember the effect this little piece of information had on me because of, I suspect, the impact her poetry had subconsciously had on me.
P.S. Just wanted to correct the mistakes in my initial posting.