Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

Theme: death

Terms in this set (11)

Antique
Blunt and questions female identity and position within the Victorian society, wishes to not exist

"Were...world"
"Were nothing at all in all the world"
"When"- adverb indicates the occurrence of death is unpredictable and inevitable
Sibilance in Q1 adds to the musical effect of the poem- euphony said in a comforting soft whisper a secret she chooses to reveal only to her lover
"Roses" connotes to love, passion, romance which she distances herself from so separation becomes less painful and more obtainable - flowers must be preserved therefore her death becomes continuous, speaker doesn't want her lover to feel sorrow or anguish at her death
"cypress tree"- evergreen and beautiful symbolises mortality and is traditionally planted in graveyards, when cut never grows back- could show how she wishes to not be remembered for her death- renunciation of mourning conventions

Imperative in 3Q
Sing... me
Plant... head
Nor... tree
sing no sad songs for me
Plant thou no roses
Shady cypress tree
Semantic field of nature is created, symbolises forms of life; regeneration of mourning
"Green grass"- alliteration part of nature with little meaning not as elaborate as roses and cypress trees- inevitable fate of death
2 quotes

"Be... me"
"With...wet"
be the green grass above me with showers and drew drops wet
Imperative repeated 3 times, refrain, mantra repeating through her mind, attempt to comfort herself a glimpse of the speaker true emotions no longer bold and selfless but scared and uncertain
sensory verbs used throughout suggests that in death she will lose all qualities that make her human repetition of 'not' - adverb- suggests she is in fact trying to ease pain and distraught of her lover/ relatives conveys how she will be nothing but an empty vessel... mourning rituals become futile

Shadows"- noun dark and unsettling connotations refer to her sins or long-suffering illness which she will no longer haunt her as she will be at peace

"Nightingale" heard during moments of death
semantic field of death and afterlife is created
" as if in pain"- death has been long-awaited, bird sung to the point of pain
3 quotes
"I shall .... the shadows"
"I shall .... feel the rain"
"I shall .... as if in pain"
I shall not see the shadows
I shall not feel the rain
I shall not hear the nightingale as if in pain
"Dreaming"- euphemism for death, image of death as a dream-like state connotes to peacefulness and serenity when appreciated and accepted- continual reassurance to lover and reader similarly
1q metaphor
"Twilight"- half-light speakers stuck in a liminal time phase separation from the living and the dead her from her lover
2nd Quote- notion of resting place where the rising and setting of the sun is no longer necessary
2Q
Dreaming... twilight
"That...set"
Dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise nor set
Remember
1st quote- refrain emphasises the growing physical and emotional distance, reinforced through the the adjective 'far'
Metaphor "silent land" euphemism, creates a blunt tone or an act of consolation afterlife boundary between the living and the dead no communication
Adjective, "silent"- place where words are no more exchanged and heard or touch can be felt- sensory isolation- 'THE' gives a sense of importance leading to the understanding that the speaker is talking about heaven

"You" direct address indicates intimacy and the personal nature of the poem
connotes to physical affection/closeness, death represents separation only form of contact would be through memory

2Q
"Gone... land"
"Where... hand"
"Gone far away into a silent land"
"When you can no longer hold me by the hand"
Corruption- physical decay of her body as described within the bible when death is mentioned
Dark and troubling adjectives offers a different connotation to the Joyful, bright afterlife in which Christians like Rossetti believed

"For... leave"
"For if the darkness and corruption leave"
Echo
Paradise- place of beauty and perfection, capitalised so a religious symbol of heaven
"Brimful"- overflown/ plenty- mortal love as unquenchable
2 Quotes
"Whose...paradise"
"Where...meet"
Whose souls should have be in paradise
Where souls brimfull of love abide and meet
Echo
Expectancy of the speaker, death is a slow process, door as a barrier between the living and the non-living but also an entrance for the reunion of souls
1 Quote

"Watch...more"
"Watch the slow door, opening , letting in, lets out no more"
ITRTAJ

Anaphora- trochee
Physical and emotional proximity of the lovers as they take their fate into their own hands
Exclamative- omniscient narrator begs for Gods forgiveness for the lovers
Taboo- sin against God's words
3 Q
"close...now"
"close...his"
"close...brow"
"God...this!"
"Close his arms about her now"
"Close her cheek to his"
"Close the pistol to her brow"
God forgive them this!
Up-Hill
Metaphor for death, God provides comfort and rest for the dead
"A... begin"
"A roof for when the slow dark hours begin"
Sets with similar terms