“Remember” by Christina Rossetti Essay Example

is shown when she states,

"Better by far you should forget and smile

That you should remember and be sad"

This shows that she wrote this sonnet to her lover that and she believed he should not be upset if, after she died, he forgot about her because she would rather know that he is happy than that he is, in a sense, dead while alive.

In the poem 'A Woman to her Lover' the woman is telling her lover whom has just proposed to her what she will and will not be. In lines 3-7 the woman says to her lover

"To make of me a bond slave

To bear you children, wearing out my life

In drudgery and silence

No servant will I be

If that be what you ask. O lover I refuse you!"

The woman is saying to her lover that she will not be a slave to him and give him children and if that is what he is asking then she is refuse him. The impression that the author is giving is that this woman has got more control over her lover because of the strong language she uses like "if that be what you ask. O lover I refuse you." This clearly shows that women were not going to tolerate just being slaves for their husbands.

There is a continuous of the woman telling her lover what she will and won't be. But then in the last verse there is a dramatic change in the language the woman uses. She says to her lover

"But lover, if you ask of me

That I shall be your comrade, friend and mate,

To live and work, to love and die with you,

That so together

we may know the purity and height

Of passion, and of joy and sorrow,

Then O husband, I am yours forever"

This suggests the woman is now saying to her lover that if he asks her to be her friend and mate and to live and work, to love and die with him then she is his forever. In this verse there is a dramatic change of attitude. First the woman uses very negative language towards her lover then she changes her language very suddenly and her language is very positive. This poem shows how women don't like to be less potent then the men and how they believe equality is essential.

The poem 'A Woman to her Lover' can be compared and contrasted very well with the poem 'My last Duchess.' They are very different in their description of marriage towards each other. In the poem 'My Last Duchess' the man is saying what he wanted his wife to be like and in 'A Woman to her Lover' the woman is saying what she wants her future husband to be like.

In the poem 'My Last Duchess' he is talking about what his wife was like. To show this its states,

"Her mantle laps

Over my lady's wrist too much,'

This suggests the Duke is saying that his wife was very popular and she was liked by a lot of people.

It is also stated that his power and status were very important to him and his self respect. Also that he believed she didn't appreciate being the Duke's wife. He didn't like the attention his wife gave other people because he felt that he should be the only one getting the attention.

The impression that is given by the author is that he wanted his wife to be a slave to him and obey everything he said whereas in the poem 'A Woman to her Lover' the woman exclaims to her lover that she won't be his slave and obey everything he says. He then says,

"Just this

Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,

Or there exceed the mark"

Here the man is not able to tell his wife that he didn't like what she was doing because he thought it as being depleted. He made her life very miserable that she committed suicide. He then arranged her death, and then arranged his own marriage to the count's daughter. At the end of the poem he is in control and he decides who can see his wife and who can't. This poem shows what lengths and steep to such lows that a man can go to be the dominant figure of a relationship and compromises with the poem "A Woman And Her Lover" in many ways, This is because they both are telling us how they want their lovers to be.

The poems 'A Birthday and 'First Love' can also be compared and contrasted with each other. This is because they are contradictive too like the other two poems. In 'A Birthday' the woman is celebrating her love and her birthday. In the first few lines with the use of regular rhyme she shoes her glee, she says,

"My heart is like a singing bird

Whose nest is in a watered shoot"

Here there is usage of similes to show the happiness of the woman. The reader gets the impression of a

spring like day and a very cheerful atmosphere. On line seven we find out why she is showing this happiness, she says,

"My heart is gladder than all these

Because my love is come to me"

This is where we realize why she is celebrating and then the reader starts to understand. She also uses a lot of plentiful words, such as,

"Raise me a dais of silk and down

Hang it with yair and purple dyes;

Carve it in doves and pomegranates"

Down is used to represent goose feathers and purple dyes are used to represent royalty. Pomegranates are an exotic fruit. The images that the reader gets are very royal and full of luxury and richness. In this quote she wants to make a platform to celebrate her love and the birthday of her life. The poem shows the extent of happiness and joy a woman endures when she finally is loved by someone who she has wanted for a long while. The poem suggests that this woman celebrates her love.

In the poem 'First Love' the author talks about his first love. He says

"I ne'er was struck before that hour"

In this quote the word struck suggest pain like he's been hit by something.

But then he goes on to say

"Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower

And stole my heart away complete

My face turned pale as deadly pale

My legs refused to walk away"

Here there are uses of similes and a metaphor. From this quote we can learn that the experience is very dramatic and extreme and causes him pain. Also it has affected him profoundly as it is his first love. It has also had a physical effect on him. It

is different to 'A Birthday' because we get the impression love is not good and it is a very traumatic experience.

He also then claims,

"My life and all seemed turned to clay.

This quote we get the impression that he couldn't move and there is an overwhelming impact.

He also states that his sight has been taken away and that the trees and bushes seemed midnight at noonday and that he could not see a single thing. The surrounding also gets affected as it seems midnight to him at noonday. The author then uses alliteration when he says

"And blood burnt round my heart"

From this we get a very harsh image of blood burning around his heart. The word blood is just very frightening.

The author then says in the final verse,

"Are flowers the winter choice?

Is love bed always snow?"

In this the author is referring to winter and snow. He is suggesting love is cold and he uses rhetorical questions to emphasize this. He thinks that she seemed to hear his silent voice as in silent communication. He also never saw a face so sweet before. Then in the final lines he uses a metaphor when he says

"My heart has left its dwelling place

And can return no more.

This gives the reader the impression that his heart is lost and nothing will ever be the same for him again.

We get the impression that is not lasting love just an instant attraction for the man and how he falls for her. This poem shows how the man falls deeply in love with a woman at first sight.

So after analyzing these two poems they contradict each other very much. 'A Birthday" refers to

how a woman sees love as being very beautiful and 'First Love' refers to how a man believes love is very traumatic.