Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti was a Victorian poet whose works are noted for their devotional intensity and lyrical precision. Her poetry often explores themes of love, death, and religious faith. Biography ↓More ↓

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Christina Rossetti

From “Later Life”

VI We lack, yet cannot fix upon the lack: Not this, nor that; yet somewhat, certainly. We see the things we do not yearn to see Around us: and what see we glancing back? Lost hopes that leave our hearts upon the rack, Hopes that were never ours yet seem’d to be, For which we steer’d on life’s salt stormy sea Braving the sunstroke and the frozen pack. If thus to look behind is all in vain, And all in vain to look to left or right, Why face we not our future once again, Launching with hardier hearts across the main, Straining dim eyes to catch the invisible sight, And strong to bear ourselves in patient pain? IX

Christina Rossetti

At Home

When I was dead, my spirit turned To seek the much-frequented house: I passed the door, and saw my friends Feasting beneath green orange boughs; From hand to hand they pushed the wine, They sucked the pulp of plum and peach; They sang, they jested, and they laughed, For each was loved of each. I listened to thier honest chat: Said one: "To-morrow we shall be Plod plod along the featureless sands, And coasting miles and miles of sea." Said one: "Before the turn of tide We will achieve the eyrie-seat." Said one: "To-morrow shall be like To-day, but much more sweet."

Biography

She was born in London in 1830 to a family of Italian-English scholars and artists. She was closely connected to the Pre-Raphaelite movement through her brothers, the poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the critic William Michael Rossetti. Her poetry is characterized by a blend of sensuous imagery and religious devotion, often reflecting Anglo-Catholic themes. She wrote extensively about love, loss, nature, and the fleetingness of earthly life. Her most famous work is the narrative poem 'Goblin Market,' a richly allegorical tale of temptation and sisterly sacrifice. Other notable collections include 'The Prince's Progress and Other Poems' and 'A Pageant and Other Poems.' She also composed devotional prose and hymns, such as the well-known carol 'In the Bleak Midwinter.' Her sonnet sequence 'Monna Innominata' reimagines the Petrarchan tradition from a female perspective. After a long illness, she died in 1894. She remains a central figure in Victorian literature, admired for her technical mastery and emotional depth.

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