A Comparison of Two Pre 1914 Poems - Remember, Christina Rossetti, and Sonnet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

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Sarah Ahmed

A Comparison of Two Pre 1914 Poems

-Remember, Christina Rossetti

-Sonnet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning

ENGLISH: UNIT 4 – ITEM 3 (5%)

LITERARY HERITAGE AND IMAGINATIVE WRITING

ENGLISH LITERATURE: UNIT 3 –PRE 1914 POETRY (10%)

        Many parallels can be drawn between ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti and ‘Sonnet’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, however at the same time there are distinct contrasts apparent.

        The title ‘Sonnet’ –or often commonly known as ‘How do I love thee’- obviously introduces the piece in sonnet form. A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme. The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, named after Francesco Petrarch, an Italian poet from the thirteenth century was introduced into English poetry in the early sixteenth century and has been widely used ever since. Its fourteen lines break into an octet and a sestet, differing from the convention of the English Shakespearean sonnet, developed in the early sixteenth century by Henry Howard that consists of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet to conclude. Traditionally, both types of sonnet were usually written by men addressing their lovers in order to express deep emotion or appreciation through poetry. However, often they were used to persuade or construct an argument. Here, both poems share in that they are both written in Petrachan sonnet form. ‘Remember’ is a Petrachan sonnet except for the last two lines as it conventionally has an octet to begin, followed by a sestet. It has a Volta expressing a change of thought at the beginning of the sestet ‘Yet if you should..’, which is often the case in Petrachan sonnets allowing the writer to project and develop a subject in the first eight lines and then to release the tension that is built up by executing this form of turn within the poem. The piece remains loyal to convention as the writer puts forth some form of argument as she describes when and how she is to be remembered, and after the pause of thought instead realises how it would be better for her to remain forgotten. In ‘How do I love thee’, there is much less of an argument and no Volta whatsoever. Although it is a Petrachan sonnet –in that it has fourteen lines starting with an octet and followed by a concluding sestet- the writer has kept the piece on the same line of thought throughout, simply describing how she loves. Through poetry, one is completely capable of expressing complex emotions and ideas in words and forms that appear simple, and that exactly reflects this poem. It is simply laid out in sonnet form, with no apparent change –just an accumulative way of divulging emotion, but it hides passionate depth that is not at all illustrated in its simple title –Sonnet- that describes its form, or in its structure. So, ‘Remember’ and ‘Sonnet’ are both sonnets but differ in their structural texture as ‘Remember’ is Petrachan, has a Volta, and conventional persuasive subject matter whereas ‘Sonnet’ does not have a Volta and remains in a descriptive nature throughout. The titles of poems can often reveal a lot about the content of the pieces. Here, the title ‘Remember’ brings immediately a central idea of remembrance to act as a chief theme. Throughout the poem, this key word is repeated, bringing across the concept firmly.

When comparing these two poems, one must consider the speakers. Here, in both cases the reader is aware that the author is female however in neither text is this femininity strikingly clear. If the reader is aware previously of the gender of the writer, they might possibly naturally assume the writer’s sex, but if the reader is not, both poems are similar in how femininity is not dominant enough in their pieces to ensure that the reader regards the speakers to be of the female sex. In society in the 19th century when both these pieces were written, men strongly dominated and women were guided by the males of their time. Both these sonnets provide a contrast to this. ‘Remember’ could be regarded as the more feminine piece of writing between the two, since it contains references to the male-domination in the society that the writer knew. ‘When you can no more hold me by the hand’ implies a woman speaking to her male lover holding her by the hand and therefore dominating and controlling her life. ‘How do I love thee’ could easily be taken as male written. At the time, it was exceedingly common for men to idolize women’s perfection, as to be the lover or wife of a man acted as women’s solo purpose. This sonnet could easily be regarded as another expression of love from a smitten man. ‘I love thee freely, as men strive for right’ illustrates how the strength of this love is being compared to men’s power and effort to achieve justice and righteousness in the world, so is typically masculine. Its active nature, describing the actions of the present, ‘as men strive…as they turn’ also would have been considered a male comparison as women were very much passive citizens who could only observe the physical active doings of men.

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        Neither ‘Remember’ nor ‘Sonnet’ have settings. They do not have times, or places. In both cases, one person is talking to the other about the relationship and in a sense, the reader feels love acts chiefly as a form of setting in place of a true one.  In ‘How do I love thee’, the writer describes in detail how she loves and exploring the paths and ways of love. In ‘Remember’ she is rationally thinking of how her lover will cope when she is gone. It is not easy to label ‘Remember’ as a love poem. Both of the sonnets ...

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