Christina Rossetti was a Romantic poet who lived in the 19th century in England. It is interesting to note that her pen name is Ellen Alleyne. I tried looking as to why she chose the name Ellen but I could not find a sufficient answer. If anyone has any thoughts please let me know. I can almost write an entire blog post on why people change their names and whether or not I agree with it. Christina was a devout Anglican and wrote a lot of religious poetry. Her most famous work was the “Goblin Market”, written in 1862. Christina passed away at the young age of 64 due to Graves Disease.

The first two lines of the poem are:

” The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept

And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may.”

I loved this introduction! I think it is very important that the writer informs the reader the setting. After reading these first two lines I was able to paint an image in my mind. I imagined a dimly lit room with the sunlight being the only source of light in the room. The bed was covered with red and white flowers that one would see at a funeral parlor or cemetery.

” Where thro’ the lattice ivy-shadow crept.”  The word lattice comes from the Latin word lades. It is a structure made up of wood and metal fastened together with a diamond shaped pieces on the top. To me this sounds very similar to a wooden casket with some decoration on top. After a casket is in the ground for a few years ivy and grass begin to grow on the casket. Perhaps, the author is alluding to a casket? The next three lines in the poem are:

” He leaned above me, thinking that I slept

And could not hear him; but I heard him say: 

Poor child, poor child…”

These three lines solidify my thoughts that the protagonist is in fact in a casket on his bed. When one is sleeping, people do not usually talk to the one in bed unless it is an urgent matter and they wake them up. On the contrary, it is very common for people to speak to a relative or a friend when they are in the hospital and near death even if they are not getting a response. It is very natural to unleash emotion and speak to a loved one. Personally, when my grandfather was very ill and no longer responsive I still spoke to him in bed even though he could not respond and most probably did not hear me. Although he was not responding it was still very therapeutic for me to talk to him.

“He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold

That hid my face, or take my hand in his.”

I am not quite sure as to why the author is trying to convey with these lines. It seems to me as if Christina is expressing the lack of care by the man who is visiting his loved one. I do not feel that one needs to touch or kiss the dead in order to show true love or compassion. Everyone connects to the dead in his or her own way, and some feel uncomfortable touching a dead body.

“He did not love me living; but once dead

He pitied me; and very sweet it is.”

These two lines confused me and caused me to reread the poem a few times. If he did not love her living, why did he visit after she was dead? I know it is respect to the dead, but was this a visit of pity or love? Anyhow, it is still kind that he visited. The poem ends with the words: ” And very sweet it is to know he still is warm tho I am cold.” I think the protagonist is using sarcasm and is not genuinely happy that he is still warm. I do not know how much she really appreciated the man’s visit. The famous words ” Too little too late”, are a perfect way to describe the theme of this poem. The life lesson that I learned from this poem is take advantage of the “now” moment in life and do not wait until it is too late.