Poem When I am Dead, My Dearest Themes

Synopsis

The speaker of Song looks forward to his/her own death and instructs a lover or friend not to mourn or sing ‘sad songs' (line 2) once s/he is gone.

Investigating Song (When I am dead, my dearest)

What are your associations with the idea of ‘life after death'?

Are any of these associations shared by the speaker in the poem?

Commentary

Publication

Rossetti composed Song (When I am dead, my dearest) in 1848. It was first published in Goblin Market and Other Poems. Subsequently, it has appeared in various collections and has been given numerous musical settings.

Language and music

Rossetti's interest in combining language with music becomes apparent when we consider that:

Ten of her poems are entitled Song

Several begin with the word ‘Songs'

Many are composed of a song-like structure and rhythm.

Relationships

In Song, the speaker urges his/her ‘dearest' not to let the memory of the speaker get in the way of living his or her own life. S/he declares that his/her happiness in death does not depend on anyone else.

The word ‘haply' comes from the phrase ‘by hap' which means by chance or accident or perhaps. By saying that once dead, ‘haply' s/he ‘may remember' or ‘haply may forget' (lines 15-16) the pain of living on the earth, s/he indicates that it matters little whether others remember or forget the speaker. Rather than being a pre-mediated decision, s/he suggests that remembrance is a matter of chance.

Nature

In Song, Rossetti has her speaker combine the anticipation of death with the ongoing life of nature. S/he looks forward to a time when the ‘green grass' will grow above him/her and the ‘showers and dewdrops wet' will offer protection and the lover some comfort (lines 5, 6).

Investigating Song (When I am dead, my dearest)

Rossetti refers to the act of singing and musical expression. How does this affect the mood that the poem creates?

Write down references to the act of singing

What is the creation of music shown to be an expression of?

What comes to mind when you think about nature?

Do you see these associations shared by the speaker of the poem?

List the phrases which indicate that the speaker depends on another for happiness

To what extent do you think people are defined by the relationships they are in (somebody's child, somebody's sibling, somebody's pupil/employee etc)?

Do you think an individual can understand him or herself in isolation from such relationships?

What evidence can you find in the poem that an individual can understand him or herself in isolation from such relationships?

Language and tone

Repetition

There is a marked amount of repetition in Song:

Whilst the first verse ends, ‘And if thou wilt, remember, / And if thou wilt, forget (lines 7-8), the second ends ‘Haply I remember, / And haply may forget (lines 15-16). By prefacing the words ‘remember' and ‘forget' in the same way in both instances, there is a blurring of the distinction between memory and forgetfulness

The first three lines in the second verse begin, ‘I shall not' (lines 9-11). The repetition of this phrase highlights the transformation of the speaker's senses after death. S/he is no longer able to ‘see', ‘feel', or ‘hear' earthly phenomena. Rather, his/her concerns will shift away from the earthly environment.

Alliteration

Throughout Song Rossetti also uses alliteration and sibilance to create a song-like tone:

Phrases such as ‘sad songs' (line 2) highlight the melancholy voice of the speaker. The soft ‘sh' sounds in the words ‘shady' and ‘showers' reinforce his/her weary tone

The description of ‘green grass' is sensuous and offers a comforting promise.

Investigating language and tone

Think about the voice that emerges through the poem. Does this voice bring out any particular emotions?

To what extent are you able to identify with the poetic speaker?

Is there any evidence to suggest that the speaker is actually a woman?

Would a difference in gender mean that you read the poem any differently?

Do you consider that the speaker displays traits traditionally ascribed to a male or female voice?

Structure and versification

Metre

The first verse of Song is written in iambic tetrameter, with the first foot inverted in l. 1, 3 and 5. This creates a song-like rhythm. This is strengthened by the regularity of the second stanza, broken only by the trochee that starts the penultimate line.

Enjambment

In Song, the use of enjambment creates a sense of spontaneity and reinforces the idea that the speaker is freely expressing his/her ideas. In particular, the lines, ‘And dreaming through the twilight / That doth not rise nor set' (lines 13-14) demonstrate the free flow of thought that the poem expresses.

Investigating structure and versification

Read the first verse again closely, thinking about its rhythm. Which other words does the poem emphasise through the rhythm of that themetre creates?

Which words are linked to one another through the metre?

Like A Birthday, the poem is written in a 16 line form, divided up into 2 stanzas

Can you identify any further similarities in form?

Can you identify any differences?

How does the metre in each of Song (When I am dead, my dearest)and A Birthday differ?

What does the structure contribute to the poems?

Does it affect the tone in which the poems are read?

Imagery and symbolism

Natural imagery –

The speaker requests that the lover plant ‘no roses' on his/her grave and no ‘shady cypress tree' in his/her memory (lines 3-4)

Whilst roses represent love, the cypress tree traditionally symbolises mourning because cypress branches were carried at funerals.

By declaring that s/he has no need of these things, the speaker reassures the lover that s/he will not be jealous or resentful if the lover continues living his/her life rather than to mourn for the speaker.

Silence –

 In the second verse, the speaker claims that once dead s/he will no longer:

         ‘hear the nightingale

Sing on, as if in pain' (l.11-12)

The nightingale was a common symbol in Romantic poetry (see Literary Context > Romantic Poetry). Keats used it in Ode to a Nightingale to speak of joy, music, self-expression, nature and immortality

By suggesting that the nightingale's song is associated with pain, Rossetti denies the idea that the natural world is a place of pure joy.

Twilight –

 The speaker looks forward to:

         ‘dreaming through the twilight
That doth not rise or set' (line 15)ere

   

The notion of resting in a place where the rising and setting of the sun is not necessary comes from the New Testament book, Revelation. There, Johndescribes heaven as a city where God's light shines so brightly the sun is not needed Revelation 21:23

Investigating imagery and symbolism

Throughout Song, the speaker expresses her emotion through the denial of certain images and symbols. List all the occurrences of the words ‘no' and ‘not'

Why do you think that there are so many?

Themes

Self-expression and the natural world

This poem is concerned with natural and spontaneous expression through song or poetry, such as the song of the ‘nightingale' (l.11). Poetry provides a natural outlet for the speaker's emotions.

Memory and forgetfulness

Memory is a sustaining force. In Song forgetfulness is the axis upon which the poem is rooted. This hints at the notion that identity is founded upon memory and that self-awareness is constructed by the remembrance of a former self.

Earthly life and ‘life after life'

The images of natural growth in Song can be seen to replace the grief that the speaker anticipates her lover will experience after she has died.

 By Wasim Khan Niazi (B.S English Roll No.1)