These poems take a different approach towards death because the poets have contrasting attitudes towards the theme of death. ‘Remember’ shows Rossetti preparing her lover for her death. In the first half of the sonnet Rossetti is asking her lover to “Only remember me”. She is being very selfish in the first half as she shows no concern for her lover’s feelings. She is probably being selfish because she is so fearful of death, because it will lead her to “the silent land” where she will be lonesome, away from her lover. However, by the second half she reaches an understanding and she feels that “you should forget and smile than… remember and be sad”. She understands that her lover will be crushed and so she tells him “do not grieve”. In “Afterwards’ it shows what Hardy was and what he hoped to be remembered for after his death. He hopes that society will look at him as “a man who used to notice” “the May month flap its glad green leaves like wings” and other elements of nature. ‘Uphill’ is about Rossetti’s wistfulness for a comfortable life and a pleasant life-after-death. The poem is in the form of questions which shows how inquisitive and afraid she is of death. It is also based on a symbol of heaven. She hopes to find comfort when she is “travel-sore and weak” after walking the road of life “all the way”. ‘Looking Back’ focuses on the fact that death is a time of the evaluation of one’s own life. She is “looking back along life’s trodden way” to contemplate on her ‘ups-and-downs’ of life. Like in ‘Up-hill’, Rossetti is hoping that “yesterday we sighed but not today”, showing that she is intent on having a pleasant life-after-death.
All the poems show the poets in a meditative mood at the end of life. This gives us the feeling that they have been pacified by life and are now ready to face whatever death holds in store for them. ‘Remember’ shows Rossetti’s understanding of the fact that death is inevitable so she reaches a compromise and asks her lover to “forget and smile than… remember and be sad”. Even in ‘Up-hill’ and ‘Looking Back’ Rossetti understands that there will be “beds for me and all who seek” if she has worked for it and also that death is a time of “Looking back along life’s trodden way”. Hardy is trying to be remembered for as “a man who used to notice” nature and appreciate it in ‘Afterwards’. He is thinking about how society will remember him when “the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay”.
All the poems show pain as well as some optimism especially ‘Afterwards’ and ‘Looking Back’. Hardy shows pain through the harsh image of “the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay”. However he shows optimism when he waits to “rise again”. He wants to be remembered for his closeness to nature and not for fame or achievements. ‘Looking Back’ too shows the pain of reflecting on the hardships of life. Rossetti calls us “Foolish feet so prone to halt or stray” showing that we as human beings tend to always make mistakes and create hardships but she then shows optimism when she says “Yesterday we sighed, but not today”, showing that she is now at peace and is not going to suffer anymore.
In ‘Remember’ and ‘Afterwards’ the poets describe death using very gloomy images. In ‘Remember’ Rossetti uses the image of a ‘silent land’ to describe death. Silence is associated with gloom and so this probably shows her dislike for death and her fear of it. Hardy describes it quite harshly. The first line is an image of a gate closing on him. This could be interpreted as the gate being closed harshly as Hardy is unwanted. Also the gate is ‘latched’ showing there will be no return. Hardy also calls death ‘some nocturnal blackness’ bringing out the bleakness of death. However in ‘Up-hill’ Rossetti describes death as the key to reach heaven. She describes heaven as an inn. In her time inns were very much like the hotels we have now to the Victorian people. It was considered a place of rest and merry-making. This change of views in these both poems shows that she is annoyed with death because she will be separated from her lover yet her fear of death makes her keen on hoping that the after life will be much better.
Rossetti was intensely devoted to her religion. This is probably why she uses Christian imagery in ‘Up-hill’. The poem as mentioned above is a symbol of heaven. She describes heaven as a joyful place, just like the Bible does, using words like ‘comfort’ to describe heaven’s nature. In ‘Looking back’ the line ‘Yesterday we sighed but not today’ could be interpreted in a Christian view. In the Bible Jesus mentions that all those who were in pain and tears would be comforted when they go to heaven. Here, Rossetti mentions that yesterday (during life) she sighed but not today (after life) as she is now comforted. There is no Christian imagery in ‘Remember’ and ‘Afterwards’ because ‘Remember’ expresses death as a wall between lovers and Hardy was close to nature not religion so he does not bother looking at death in a Christian view.
All the poems have a regular stanzate form for various reasons. ‘Remember’ is a sonnet and this regular structure probably emphasises on the fact that death is inevitable. ‘Afterwards’ and ‘Looking Back’ have a similar structure. Both have the same ideas carried out in the refrains. In ‘Afterwards’ the idea of wanting to be remembered for his affinity with nature is carried out through the refrains. In ‘Looking back’ the refrain is the title and it is repeated in every stanza. This is meant for emphasis of the fact that death is a time to look back and evaluate one’s life. The regular structure of ‘Up-hill’ signifies the constant fear that the poet has for death. It is also bringing out the continuous questioning that she does in the poem.
The poems have varying tones as they have different views towards death. The tone in ‘Remember’ changes between the first and second half of the sonnet. It starts off with a tone of selfishness and greed and changes to a tone of understanding and care. This variation could suggest the confused state she was in because she kept thinking of her death and how it would separate the two lovers. In ‘Up-hill’ the tone is of anxiety and fear of death. Hence there is a flow of questions. In ‘Looking Back’ and ‘Afterwards’ the poets do not show much fear and hatred of death. In ‘Looking Back’ the tone is of evaluation and nostalgia. This signifies the peacefulness that comes while one’s life is being evaluated. The person has no fear as now there is not much left to life so there shouldn’t be any worries, which is why she questions “Is that cloud the cloud we called so black?” ‘Afterwards’ has a tone of wonder – Hardy wonders whether he will be remembered or not.
The message conveyed by the four poems are almost entirely different, even though the poets are reflecting on the same theme of death. Rossetti shows three different messages through her poems when she reflects on death. ‘Remember’ tells us that death is inevitable and will bring about pain but we should not allow our death to be responsible for a loved one’s grief. ‘Up-hill’ on the other hand shows how heaven will be – a place of comfort after a journey which “take the whole long day”. ‘Looking Back’ is meant to convey that death is a time of evaluation of one’s life. One should look back “along life’s trodden way” and meditate on the mistakes and hardships of life. In ‘Afterwards’ Hardy says that death is a time of evaluation from others and that you should be remembered for what you are and not because you are famous or have achieved something. He also hopes that he will be remembered for his familiarity with nature and how he “could do little” for it even though he tried.
I feel that all the poems effectively convey the theme of loss. All poems have a different approach but the basic idea is clear: death is inevitable. However, the poets have different views on death and its effect on them and those close to them.
