Lookbat 11­05 I.
Introduction Thesis statement: Christina Rossetti uses religious allusions, nature imagery, and imperatives as a tool to reveal the theme of her desire for death II.
Body Paragraph #1 A.
Topic sentence: In Rossetti’s poems, religion is a very important factor that led her feeling of wanting to die show up outstandingly. B.
Supporting evidence: i. “no wit, no word, no tears” and “ I dwell alone”. ii. “ a broken bowl that cannot hold / one drop of water for my soul” “The purple” iii. “ O Jesus, quicken me ” “ O Jesus, rise in me ” “ O Jesus, drink of me ” C. Clincher sentence: That belief of her are all influenced by religion which intervene in the theme of desiring for death in her poems. III.
Body Paragraph #2 A.
Topic sentence: Nature images are used by Rossetti to display her demand for death ​
. Nature images are used by Rossetti to enhance desperately feeling in need of death . B.
Supporting evidence: i.”the sunless rivers” ­ Dreamland the absent of sun ii. Roses ­when I am dead, my dearest for grief but she want a better life so don’t be sad for her iii. She left the rosy morn, /She left the fields of corn, /For twilight cold and lorn ­ dreamland want to leave all to positiveness C. Clincher sentence: Lookbat 11­05 Her strong attitude toward the death is shown in the poems by using nature images. IV.
Body Paragraph #3 This is my essay of topic 3 A.
Topic sentence: Rossetti’s imperative allow her to illustrate her desire to die in the poems. B.
Supporting evidence: i. “Sing no sad songs for me;” to show the grief don’t feel sad because this is what she want she prefer them showing her when she alive because she can’t see it feel it. So, there is no good for doing that ii. “Awake her not” don’t wake her up because she can’t and will not iii. “Haply you may remember/haply may forget” give everyone a freedom to forget or remember her , she will have a new life that is not related to their world C. Clincher sentence: The idea of Rossetti herself is looking forward for the death is obviously depicted by her own imperative. V. Conclusion Christina Rossetti uses religious allusions, nature imagery, and imperatives as a tool to reveal the theme of her desire for death A. Rephrased thesis statement: Rossetti’s imperatives, religious belief , and nature images that are inscribed in poems enable her desire to end the pain through death to be visible for readers to see Lookbat 11­05 Attitudes toward death Of all nineteenth­century poets, Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830­1894) was one of the most memorable important poet that created unique poems. Rossetti was born in the artist family, with her dad, Gabriele Rossetti, who was an Italian poet and politician and her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a pre­pahaelie painter. For the earliest education, she and her sister were educated by their mother with religiously books. Attending church with her mom and sister at a very young age and a combination of her determination habit made her became a strongly religious person. She refused marriage proposals because of different religious perspective. Her poems reflected the loss of her two lovers. Rossetti had been suffering from depressing that was diagnosed as a “religious Mania.” After that her physically and mentally health was going down hill to the point where she was looking forward to death. As consequences, majority of her works is about death with a sense of religion. Her experience of facing with depression allow her to understand about those of others and expressed it in her poems “The Better Resurrection”, “When I’m Dead, My Dearest”, and “Dreamland”. Christina Rossetti uses religious allusions, nature imagery, and imperatives as a tool to reveal the theme of her desire for death In Rossetti’s poems, religion is a very important factor that led her feeling of wanting to die show up outstandingly. By the name of the poem “The Better Resurrection” means coming back to life after death. Rossetti put “a better” in front “resurrection” to convey her thought. She believes that living in life after death will be like giving her a new life. The first stanza of the poem starts with her description about the emptiness and loneliness of her life with “I have no wit, no word, no tears;” and “ Look right, look left, I dwell alone;” (lines 1,4). Depression plays an important role in Rossetti’s mind. For a very long time, Rossetti had been having Gods to rely on for everything entirely, but then the depression persistently Lookbat 11­05 effects her thought and her feeling. She feels like everything and everyone are not dependable anymore. She was socially and mentally suffering as if she is living dead. In the last stanza, Rossetti states her life as “ a broken bowl that cannot hold / one drop of water for my soul” (lines 17­18) which mean not only there is nothing that can make her soul happy and want to be in the world, but also refer to the bowl of Jesus’s last supper. For Christians, the bowl of Jesus’s last supper is the reminder of Jesus’s existence. The bowl is shattered by the depression can represent a cracked in relationship between Rossetti and Jesus. Even so, the tension between hope and hopeless that are constantly fighting in her mind. She ends each of three stanzas with the sentence “ O Jesus, quicken me ”, “ O Jesus, rise in me ”and “ O Jesus, drink of me ” (lines 8,18, and 24) . She still has hoped of Jesus offering her a new better life not in the current life, but in the land she calls “ The purple land” in the poem “ Dream land.” The land which she describes as a place for a perfect rest. Rossetti’s belief is influenced by religion which intervenes in the poem to raise up the theme of desiring death. Nature images are used by Rossetti to enhance desperately feeling in need of death. Positive nature imagery are present in the poem “Dreamland”, but the true meaning that Rossetti wants reader to know of the entire lines are opposite to positive. According to these lines,“She left the rosy morn,/ She left the fields of corn,”(lines 9­10), she means that even though the world she lives is so beautiful, it cannot fulfill her need. She wants to leave the nature behind and find the place that suited her desire. The following line “For twilight cold and lorn” (line 11) is where she wants to be instead of that glory places. Twilight is when sun is absent, so there is only darkness embraces her. In her poems, nature which specifically in this poem is darkness, sometimes used for symbolising the death. The darkness get repeated throughout the poem; for instance, “Where sunless rivers weep” (line 1). The repetition also shows how extreme she intends for the death. She mentions the comparison of her life “My Lookbat 11­05 life is in the falling leaf:”(line 7). The leaf falls of tree is a law of nature. Likewise, Rossetti died of natural causes, cancer, without attempting suicide. But with hope that she will be gone from this world in some days. The motion of leaf falls from its branch illustrates the image of her life's freely falling. She is willing to let herself fall into death. The closer the leaf to the ground, the faster the speed is getting due to the force of gravity as her feeling get more motivated along the way of her life. Her strong attitude toward the death is shown in the poems by using nature images. Rossetti’s imperative allow her to illustrate her desire to die in her poem, “When I’m dead, my dearest”. The setting of this poem is at a funeral which evidently is hers. She discourages everyone sing songs and plant roses which represent love and grief as shown “ Sing no sad songs for me; / Plant thou no roses at my head, ” (lines 2­3). The author does not want anyone to feel sorry or sad for her death, but instead wants them to feel happy with her. Death has always been her ultimate goal. However, her religious belief has prevented her from doing it herself. So, dying by natural causes will complete her desire without neglect her own belief. Another reason she is saying this to everyone is to remind them that they should have done everything they want when she is still alive rather than when she is dead and can feel nothing. After she died, she will neither hear nor see anything “ I shall not see the shadows, / I shall not feel the rain; / I shall not hear the nightingale ” (lines 9­11). Moreover, the pain she has been in, the things she has suffered for will never happen to her again. She won’t feel anyone’s pain as well as hers. Lastly, Rossetti gives everyone a freedom to forget or remember her ,“Haply you may remember / haply may forget” (lines 15­16) because she will have a new life that is not at all related to their world. She will not be bothered by anyone’s or hers thought anymore. If one may to forget the author and moving on with his or her life instead of mourning for the author’s death, she will not be resentful or upset. Due to Lookbat 11­05 the fact that Rossetti will never know whether one still remember or already forget her. She is going to have her new life that she believes is better than her former life. The idea of Rossetti herself is looking forward for the death is obviously depicted by her own imperative Rossetti’s imperatives, religious belief , and nature images that are inscribed in the poems enable her desire to end the pain through death to be visible for readers to see. Different people have different ways of expressing their feeling. Writing a poem is Rossetti’s way of living with the depressing feeling. “The better resurrection”, “When I’m dead, my dearest”,and “Dreamland” are the obvious poems that reveal her true desire for death. The experience she has been facing influences her thought and her determination, which effect on the form and content of her poems. Life always involves obstacles, Rossetti’s way of coping with them is to not focus on present but instead future. Causing her a unique way of viewing death; a better new life after life. She deeply understands the concept that death are truly part of life. There is no need seeking for it because it will naturally come at one day. Lookbat 11­05 Reference Christina Rossetti. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems­and­poets/poets/detail/christina­rossetti# Rossetti, C. (1862). Dream Land. ​
Poetry Foundation.​
Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems­and­poets/poems/detail/44995 Rossetti, C. (1862). A better resurrection. ​
Poetry Foundation​
. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems­and­poets/poems/detail/44991 Rossetti, C. (1862). When I am dead, my dearest.​
Poetry Foundation​
. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems­and­poets/poems/detail/45003