Analysis of After Death

Christina Georgina Rossetti 1830 (London) – 1894 (London)



The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept
And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may
Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay,
Where through the lattice ivy-shadows crept.
He leaned above me, thinking that I slept
And could not hear him; but I heard him say:
'Poor child, poor child:' and as he turned away
Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept.
He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold
That hid my face, or take my hand in his,
Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head:
He did not love me living; but once dead
He pitied me; and very sweet it is
To know he still is warm though I am cold.


Scheme ABBAABBACDEEDC
Poetic Form
Metre 0100110111 011101001 1101011111 110101011 1101110111 0111111111 1111011101 1011001111 1111011101 1111111101 1100110111 1111110111 111010111 1111111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 595
Words 125
Sentences 4
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 458
Words per stanza (avg) 122
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

37 sec read
216

Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote various romantic, devotional, and children's poems. "Goblin Market" and "Remember" remain famous. She wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in the UK: "In the Bleak Midwinter", later set by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, and "Love Came Down at Christmas", set by Harold Darke and by other composers. more…

All Christina Georgina Rossetti poems | Christina Georgina Rossetti Books

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