Christina Rossetti's poem Song is simultaneously beautiful and grim. The beauty rests within her imagery and haunting words while death is a rather grim topic to address. Nevertheless, Rossetti does a wonderful job of it.
The poem opens with the line:
"When I am dead, my dearest
Sing no sad songs for me;"
and from that moment forward it is obvious that she is not afraid of death. Rossetti's religious background would leave her at peace with her eventual demise while many others would wish to never be forgotten once they are gone.
"And if thou wilt, remember,
And if thou wilt, forget." Means that if you decide to think on me when I am gone then you may, but you are welcome to forget me as well. It's so strange to see someone as content with dying as Rossetti, especially when most poetry about death is about the narrator wishing to defy the inevitable.
I believe most people are calm when it comes to death until it actually reaches them, at least in my experiences. I know my grandfather in particular didn't really have a mind for death. He just shrugged his shoulders and knew that he was going to die and that was going to be it, but, right before he died, he was no longer okay. He worried about everything he didn't do and everything he wanted to do.
ReplyDeleteRosetti's point of view on death is very realistic though. There are more things to life than mourning over the death of a loved one and since they will never feel your sadness or see the flowers you post on their grave, you shouldn't waste your time.
I really liked your analysis. I appreciated the author expressing that death was inevitable and part of living. I believe that this is what helped the author to gain the perspective that is expressed in the poem. I agree with Samantha that Rosetti took a very realistic view on death. I have known several people with this outlook on death, and I have always envied their ability to overcome mourning. I thought that this poem was extremely beautiful because of the message that it sent to the reader. I loved it!
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