'Remember' by Christina Rossetti (Detailed commentary and line-by-line analysis)

Detailed commentary and analysis by Claire's Notes of 'Remember' by Christina Rossetti
Edexcel iGCSE
CCEA: Relationships

"Remember" by Christina Rossetti is a poignant sonnet that explores themes of love, loss, and mortality. The speaker addresses their beloved, urging them to remember the speaker after their death. The poem reflects on the inevitability of parting and the enduring power of love beyond the grave. Rossetti's use of gentle persuasion and introspective tone evokes a sense of melancholy and resignation, capturing the complexities of human emotions in the face of mortality. The poem's lyrical beauty and emotional depth make it a timeless exploration of love's enduring impact and the bittersweet nature of farewell.

Remember by Christina Rossetti

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more, day by day,
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.


My poetry videos all have the same structure: I start by putting the poem into its historical and biographical context where this enhances its understanding and give a short summary of the poem itself; I then look at the poem in its entirety, picking out structural features, such as metre (rhythm), any rhyming and patterns in language which the poet uses; I finish by going through the poem on a line-by-line basis, giving definitions of words and offering an interpretation of the poet’s words with justification. Most of the terminology I use (in green) is provided with a definition below, so even if you haven’t come across it before, you should still be able to understand the points I am making.

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I have been an English teacher and private tutor for more than 20 years.

Please note that any literature analysis is highly subjective and may disagree with analysis by another person. All interpretations are valid if they can be justified by reference to the text. This interpretation is my own: it is not exhaustive and there are alternatives!

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