Remembering Rossetti

In many of Christina Rossetti’s poems, she toggles between asking her audience to remember her and assuring them it’s ok if they forget her.  Specifically, in the poems “Song” and “Remember,” she utilizes a very memorable form of parallel structure and opposites when writing these requests. And thus, even when she concludes that it is ok that she is forgotten, the lines that contain this conclusion remain in the reader’s memory.

In “Song,” Rossetti writes “And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget” at the end of the first of two stanzas (lines 7-8).  The repetition of the phrase “And if thou wilt” makes it seem of more importance than other lines, and it drills into the reader’s mind.  To add to this memorable quality, the lines both end with a single word that means the opposite of the other: “remember” and “forget.”  To have two lines that are short and to the point while simultaneously being identical up until the last word is already hard to forget.  But then having those two words still be closely related to each other only adds to the fact that this couplet will stick out compared to the rest of the poem.  The second stanza and very end of the poem repeats the words “remember” and “forget,” further emphasizing the presence of memory in “Song.” And so, while Rossetti assures the reader that they may forget her, the repetition of phrases and words relating to memory ensures that the reader will not.

In the poem “Remember,” Rossetti employs a similar tactic.  She opens the poem with the phrase “Remember me,” and then proceeds to repeat it two more times in the single stanza poem.  So while there are words that come after each “remember me,” the repeated phrase is the most memorable part.  In addition, while those subsequent words are peaceful and melancholic, “remember me” by itself reads like a stern command.  And so once again, as in “Song,” despite Rossetti’s closing lines disclosing to readers that she would rather they forget and be happy than remember and be sad, the part of the poem readers are most likely to remember is exactly that word–“remember.”  Through the form of her poems, Rossetti reveals that she does not actually want to be forgotten, even if she states that she is ok with it.

Perhaps Rossetti is truly ok with being forgotten.  However, when looking at the parallels in “Song” and “Remember,” it becomes clear that it is more likely that she wants some semblance of herself to remain in memory.  The reason as to why she approves the idea of being forgotten may be that Rossetti is unsatisfied with the version of herself that will be remembered through the artwork of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood.  Rossetti may be using her poetry to indicate that she would much rather be known for her own works than a construction of herself made by someone else.  Hence, not just Rossetti herself, but her actual poetry is speaking when it commands readers to “remember me.”