Recurring Theme of Christina Rossetti’s Poems: Who Shall Deliver Me?, De Profundis and Beneath Thy Cross

Who Shall Deliver Me?

(a)    God strengthen me to bear myself; ................ iambic tetrameter

(b)    That heaviest weight of all to bear, …………………. iambic tetrameter

(b)    Inalienable weight of care. ………………………………… iambic tetrameter

(c)    All others are outside myself; ………………………….. iambic tetrameter

(d)    I lock my door and bar them out …………………….. iambic tetrameter

(d)    The turmoil, tedium, gad-about. ………………………. iambic tetrameter

(e)    I lock my door upon myself, …………………………….. iambic tetrameter

(f)     And bar them out; but who shall wall ………………. iambic tetrameter

(f)     Self from myself, most loathed of all? ……………… iambic tetrameter

(g)    If I could once lay down myself, ………………………. iambic tetrameter

(h)    And start self-purged upon the race ………………… iambic tetrameter

(h)    That all must run! Death runs apace. ………………. iambic tetrameter

(i)     If I could set aside myself, ………………………………… iambic tetrameter

(j)     And start with lightened heart upon …………………. iambic tetrameter

(j)     The road by all men overgone! …………………………. iambic tetrameter

(k)    God harden me against myself, ………………………… iambic tetrameter

(l)     This coward with pathetic voice ………………………… iambic tetrameter

(l)     Who craves for ease and rest and joys ……………. iambic tetrameter

(m)   Myself, arch-traitor to myself; ………………………….. iambic tetrameter

(n)    My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe, …………….. iambic pentameter

(n)    My clog whatever road I go. ………………………………. iambic tetrameter

(o)    Yet One there is can curb myself, ……………………… iambic tetrameter

(p)    Can roll the strangling load from me …………………. iambic tetrameter

(p)    Break off the yoke and set me free …………………… iambic tetrameter

Form : Stanzaic          

8 tercets           

De Profundis

(a)     Oh why is heaven built so far, ……………………………. iambic tetrameter

(b)     Oh why is earth set so remote? …………………………. iambic tetrameter

(a)      I cannot reach the nearest star ……………..…………. iambic tetrameter

(b)      That hangs afloat. ………………………………………………. iambic dimeter

(c)      I would not care to reach the moon, …………………. iambic tetrameter

(d)     One round monotonous of change; ……………………. iambic tetrameter

(c)      Yet even she repeats her tune …………………………… iambic tetrameter

(d)     Beyond my range. ……………………………………………….. iambic dimeter

(e)     I never watch the scatter'd fire ………………………….. iambic tetrameter

(f)     Of stars, or sun's far-trailing train, ……………………… iambic tetrameter

(e)    But all my heart is one desire, …………………………….. iambic tetrameter

(f)     And all in vain: ……………………………………………………… iambic dimeter

(g)    For I am bound with fleshly bands, …………………….. iambic tetrameter

(h)    Joy, beauty, lie beyond my scope; ………………………. iambic tetrameter

(g)    I strain my heart, I stretch my hands, ……………….. iambic tetrameter

Form: Stanzaic 4 Quatrains

(h)    And catch at hope. ……………………………………………….. iambic dimeter

Beneath Thy Cross

(a)    Am I a stone, and not a sheep, ………………………..…. iambic tetrameter

(b)    That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross, ……. iambic pentameter

(b)    To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss, …… iambic pentameter

(a)    And yet not weep? …………………………………………………. iambic dimeter

(c)    Not so those women loved ……………………………………. iambic tetrameter

(d)    Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; ………….. iambic pentameter

(d)    Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; ……………………. catalectic line

(c)    Not so the thief was moved; …………………………………. iambic trimeter

(e)    Not so the Sun and Moon ……………………………………… iambic trimeter

(f)     Which hid their faces in a starless sky, ………………… iambic pentameter

(e)    A horror of great darkness at broad noon-- …………. iambic pentameter

(f)     I, only I. ………………………………………………………………….. iambic dimeter

(g)    Yet give not o'er, ……………………………………………………. iambic dimeter

(h)    But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; …. iambic pentameter

(g)    Greater than Moses, turn and look once more ……… iambic pentameter

Form: Stanzaic 4 Quatrains

(h)    And smite a rock. ……………………………………………………. iambic dimeter

Christina Georgina Rossetti’s themes were faith and the peace of the eternal spiritual life. Her religion was not theological or doctrinal, however, in the manner of Victorians, for she concentrated on simple faith and pure lyrics to celebration of that faith. In this simple faith, Jesus being the object of much of her devotion: she wrote a number of poems on the incidents in His life and used Good Friday and the Resurrection as a subject for several of her best poems (Magill, 1960). Faith, an attitude of the entire self, including both will and intellect, directed toward a person, an idea, or—as in the case of religious faith—a divine being (Macquarrie, 2008). Here are three poems that conveys faith as its theme: Who Shall Deliver Me?, De Profundis and Beneath Thy Cross.

The poems express the theme of hope and faith that is found in the hands of God. Each persona of the poems is searching for hope as he is humbled of her life. For the persona, there is nothing about him for he is a sinner, but all about God that He is the only one who could help him in his miseries and problems in this world. He offers his problems to God and let Him decide for his life. He seeks for the hope that is found only in God.

In the poem, Who Shall Deliver Me? the persona let its readers perceive how heavy the burden he carries and prays to God to lighten it. It is found on the first lines of the poem,

God strengthen me to bear myself;

That heaviest weight of all to bear,

Inalienable weight of care.

And the cause of this weight is her isolation from the others due to her faith. For deeper understanding, Christina Rossetti isolated herself from her suitors because of faith. Her suitors believe in other religion than hers or have no religion. This causes her to break free from them as seen on these lines,

All others are outside myself;

I lock my door and bar them out

The turmoil, tedium, gad-about.

I lock my door upon myself,

And bar them out; but who shall wall

Self from myself, most loathed of all?

The persona thinks of a solution that is undesirable for she is to give up and to end her life. Hence, the solution is death to lighten her burden as she thinks that in life death comes. She will only quicken it by killing herself as seen in these citations,

If I could once lay down myself,

And start self-purged upon the race

That all must run! Death runs apace.

If I could set aside myself,

And start with lightened heart upon

The road by all men overgone!

Now, the persona of the poem begs for God’s guidance as she is thinking of ridiculous things as the previous citations say. In life, men are sometimes quitter from the game of life and thus, end life. Man must think of the reason why they live and not by the mistakes they did or the burdens they carry.

God harden me against myself,

This coward with pathetic voice

Who craves for ease and rest and joys.

        Here, the persona says that her greatest traitor, foe and clog is his own self and this is right. In reality, the most dangerous person is not the other persons but the person himself because a man can betray himself by not perceiving it. Thus, man should think of the ways that prohibit this to happen. Think of the beautiful things that God has given you and live in His accordance for there you can find freedom. Yoke here symbolizes the persona, like a person still on his “shell” or comfort zone who needs to be appreciated, elevated and motivated to have confidence and find happiness in the outside world of his shell. The One represents God as the letter “O” is in the uppercase. The word curb is parallel to discipline. The persona states that God can help in disciplining himself.

Myself, arch-traitor to myself ;

My hollowest friend, my deadliest foe,

My clog whatever road I go.

Yet One there is can curb myself,

Can roll the strangling load from me

Break off the yoke and set me free

        In the poem, De Profundis, faith in God is also conveyed like in the previous poem, Who Shall Deliver Me?. But, faith in God is rendered here in different manner because its persona is questioning same as the man in reality. Man asks why this is so or why is that so. Man cannot be refrained for questioning unless he trusts God intensely. These citations render the sample questions man may ask.

Oh why is heaven built so far,

Oh why is earth set so remote?

                    Man is said humanly not contented of what he has. Thus, he craves for more and sometimes he wants are those to the extremities. Like in the following citations, man is not contented but still man cannot do everything. The nearest star represents the nearest goal man can achieved.

I cannot reach the nearest star

That hangs afloat.

I would not care to reach the moon,

One round monotonous of change;

Yet even she repeats her tune

Beyond my range.

I never watch the scatter'd fire

Of stars, or sun's far-trailing train,

                   Man might desire all things but one withstand and it is the most important. It is what the heart needs. Man is not a god to acquire all he wants and because he is human, he is bound to reach or have faith to the greatest power owned by God himself. In the last two lines, he executed a movement that shows faith to God.

But all my heart is one desire,

And all in vain:

For I am bound with fleshly bands,

Joy, beauty, lie beyond my scope;

I strain my heart, I stretch my hands,

And catch at hope.

        The last poem is, “Beneath Thy Cross”. Like the first two poems this is about the faith in God and the hope that He brings to man. The setting of the poem is in the land of Gethsemane where Jesus Christ was crucified.  In the two stanzas, the persona humbled himself upon Christ. He expresses how sinner he is that he did not weep or was not moved unlike the other characters, those women, Peter and the thief, who expressed their love for Jesus Christ. On the first stanza, the persona compared himself to a stone and not in a sheep. Sheep is the symbol for the followers of Christ. The stone o symbolizes a worthless and numb being.

Am I a stone, and not a sheep,

That I can stand, O Christ, beneath thy cross,

To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss,

And yet not weep?

Not so those women loved

Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee;

Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly;

Not so the thief was moved;

The persona, here in the third stanza, compared himself to the sun and moon which also sympathized with Christ on the cross. It was a cloudy day that created the atmosphere of gloomy and serious while it is noon time. As one of the sinner, the persona regrets what he did to Christ. The starless sky suggests a bad day as Jesus is crucified.

Not so the Sun and Moon

Which hid their faces in a starless sky,

A horror of great darkness at broad noon--

I, only I.

        In the fourth stanza, the persona shows hope and faith to Christ. The shepherd symbolizes Jesus Christ as He herds his sheep to the right path to God. The persona does not give up to what he regrets but he prays that Jesus will still herd him as one of His sheeps. He hopes for Jesus Christ to look at him once more, as a stone or rock, he still have a chance to be a sheep. The persona is full of regret but still he has a great hope and faith in Christ as he wants Him to herd him.

Yet give not o'er,

But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock;

Greater than Moses, turn and look once more

And smite a rock.

Faith in God is the best weapon man can have in facing the challenges in life. It is the only thing a man can lean on if there is really no solution to a certain hardship in life. Even if man is diverse in religion, whoever his god might be, man must have faith in Him. It’s the key to happiness and contentment in life.

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Christina was the sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and like him she showed promise as a poet while still very young. She was educated at home and encouraged to write by her family; her teenage poems were printed by her grandfather on his own press.

 She had a sad life, though not so tragic as that of her brother. Twice her deep religious convictions prevented her from accepting an offer of marriage that otherwise appealed to her (John W. Cuncliliffe, 1940). She was a devout Anglican, and refused two suitors on religious grounds: the painter James Collinson because he became a Roman Catholic; and Charles Bagot Cayley, because he was an atheist. Perhaps as a result of this self-denial, a recurrent theme in her poetry is the rejection of earthly passion in favour of spiritual devotion. Even those poems with a strong element of fantasy in them, such as 'Goblin Market' or 'The Prince's Progress' are often written with a clear moral purpose in mind.

Rossetti's health was always poor, and illness had rendered her an invalid by the time she was fifty. She continued to write however, producing Time Flies: A Reading Diary (1885), which contained poems and thoughts for each day, and The Face of the Deep: A Devotional Commentary on the Apocalypse (1892). After her death her brother W.M. Rossetti brought out an edition of her later poetry, New Poems, in 1896, and edited her Collected Poems (1904).

        Christina Rossetti is widely regarded as the greatest female poet in English up to her own time. She was considered for the position of Poet Laureate, before her final illness made the appointment impossible (Marsh, 1994).