“Remember me when I am gone away -line 1
…Remember me when no more day by day -line 5
…Only remember me… -line 7
…Yet if you should forget for a while -line 9
…do not grieve -line 10
…Better by far you should forget and smile -line 13
…Than that you should remember and be sad.” -line 14
The person is asking her loved one to remember her in the octave, presumably when she is dead, but then in the sestet, this is developed. She only wants to be remembered if the memory brings joy, for if it only brings sadness then it would be better if she were forgotten even though she would like to be remembered.
There is, however, an exception to this rhyme scheme rule in ‘Youth Gone, Beauty Gone’, where the rhyme scheme is ABBA ACAC, DCEECD. This, however, is another example of how the rhyme scheme compliments the structure and content of the sonnet. ‘Youth Gone, Beauty Gone’ is about growing old. The woman ‘narrating’ feels that she has lost everything now that she is no longer young and beautiful and that she cannot love again. There is no real second section in this poem, just a progression of thought about growing old, which is shown in the rhyme scheme by the integration of the As and Cs. There is a much more gradual change of rhyme scheme fitting the gradual progression of idea in this sonnet.
All poems are said with a certain type of rhythm, and sonnets are no exception. In each poem, each line is ten syllables except for one, which is eleven syllables. Not all punctuation marks are at the end of lines, but there are many lines with pauses in the middle of the line rather than the end so some lines flow straight on to the next without a pause.
“The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept
And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may
Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay,”
This enjambement makes the saying aloud of these poems more conversational. It is more akin to natural speech, where the saying of the syllables is stressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed. This is called iambic pentameter, which can be found in all three of the sonnets. This rhythm, as stated earlier, gives the sonnet quite a conversational tone, which emphasises the personal feeling of the sonnets. They are all the personal thoughts and reflections of the poet, and so the natural rhythm fits very well with the natural and simple nature of the poem.
I have also looked at the language and imagery used in the three sonnets. The language of each is simple and economical by necessity of the structure of only fourteen lines, and the rhythm of only ten syllables per line.
“The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept
And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may
Lay thick up the bed on which I lay,”
Within these three lines, Rossetti has succinctly described the setting of the poem, yet has captured such details that conjure up a full and complete picture of a room where a person might lie dead.
The economical language is then augmented by the imagery, which is much more complex, and which we have to extrapolate to understand the full meaning of a line.
“…He did or touch the shroud, or raise the fold
That hid my face, or take my hand in his,
Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head.”
We can see that from the few small actions, which did not take place, that this man (lover or father, it is not definitely determined) did not have a great love for the dead woman. He does not perform the little actions that would have shown his love for her.
Another example from ‘Youth Gone, Beauty Gone’:
“…Youth gone and beauty gone, what doth remain?
The longing of a heart pent up all forlorn
…while youth and beauty made a summer morn,
Silence of love that cannot sing again.”
‘Youth and Beauty made a summer morn’; summer is the time of the year when life is in full bloom and the morning is the time when one is just beginning one’s day, and there are many possibilities. Rossetti is saying that youth and beauty are the best things of life, and now that they are gone ‘what doth remain?’ She answers: all that is left is a troubled and saddened heart and love that cannot be expressed again, so what doth remain? There is nothing to live for. In all of the sonnets there is much nuance that needs to be interpreted to understand the full meaning of the sonnets.
“…He did not love me for living; but once dead
He pitied me; and very sweet it is
To know that he is warm though I am cold.”
These lines reveal the fully unconditional love the woman had for the man in this poem, even though the poem tells us he does not love her. The only feeling he has for her is pity, now that she is dead, and for even this tiny piece of emotion she is grateful: “and very sweet it is”. She is pathetically grateful to know that he has some semblance of emotional warmth for her. Even if it is pity now that she herself is cold and dead, which truly shows the strong regard she had for him.
Finally, in all the sonnets there is always a personal voice, ‘I’.
“Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay”
“I will not bind fresh roses in my hair”
“Remember me when I am gone away”
The use of ‘I’ makes each sonnet feel so much more personal and it makes it much easier for the reader to be drawn in to identify with the ‘narrator’ and to understand what the poem is about.
I do think the content of these poems suits the sonnet form. Each poem is very personal and intimate. They are the thoughts and reflections of the writer on various themes connected to emotions. ‘After Death’ is about death, love and unrequited love, ‘Remember’ also has the similar theme of love and death, but this time it is very accepting and the love is such that the woman who dies wishes her lover not even to remember her if it makes him unhappy. ‘Youth Gone, Beauty Gone’ is the author’s reflections on having grown old and how she feels there is nothing left for her to live for. These poems all incorporate the ideas of love and, either death or growing old. Reflection and thought on these ideas are developed in the sonnet. It is the perfect form for this style of writing for it is brief and structured. The single ideas would not be suited to a long drawn out narrative poem or a ballad. I think therefore that the content of these poems suits very well the sonnet form because they are little thoughts and personal reflections of the author, which can be explored, in just the right amount in the sonnet form.