Structure - A Helpmeet for Him

• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Refrain, this echoes the biblical language of Genesis, affirming that woman’s creation was intentional and divinely mandated - In repeating this phrase, Rossetti situates femininity within a framework of sacred design, legitimising traditional gender roles through theological authority - The repetition reinforces a sense of stability and moral order, portraying woman’s role as eternally fixed and spiritually righteous
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Refrain, this functions almost as a mantra, mimicking the didactic language used to instil patriarchal values into women from an early age - Its relentless return acts as a structural and rhetorical mechanism of reinforcement, suggesting how ideology is naturalised through repetition - Rossetti may be critiquing how such divine-sounding statements become internalised, leaving little space for autonomy or resistance
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Refrain, the declaration "Woman was made" strips away individuality, collapsing female identity into a singular, utilitarian role - The absence of detail or elaboration leaves the phrase stark and impersonal, suggesting that women’s complexity is erased in favour of their function as support systems for men - This could be read as Rossetti highlighting the erasure of the self in Victorian womanhood, where existence is validated only through relation to the male
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Refrain, this stylistically imitates the rhythm of religious catechism or creeds, drawing on Tractarian influences to frame woman’s role as spiritual truth - By embedding this line within a hymn-like structure, Rossetti merges poetic form with devotional tone, elevating the poem to the status of moral instruction - The repetition not only reinforces belief but positions it as part of a wider theological discourse
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Refrain, it appears to affirm a traditional view of woman’s role, its mechanical repetition may also introduce a subtle irony - Each return to "Woman was made" becomes increasingly hollow or unnerving, potentially suggesting entrapment rather than celebration - In this way, Rossetti may be exposing how the sanctification of female servitude can obscure the lived reality of spiritual and emotional suppression
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Heteroglossia (Multiple Narrative Voices), on the surface, Rossetti’s poem presents one unified voice: a devotional, hymn-like celebration of woman’s divine role - It reads as a monologic affirmation of Tractarian gender ideology - woman as meek, supportive, spiritually complementary to man - Yet the subtle paradoxes woven into the language, such as veiled strength and the repetition of the refrain, signal an undercurrent of resistance, allowing Rossetti to smuggle in proto-feminist doubt beneath a veil of piety
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Heteroglossia (Multiple Narrative Voices), it also stages a quiet dialogue between surface compliance and internal complexity - The refrain “Woman was made” may become increasingly hollow, robotic, or ironic with repetition - suggesting entrapment rather than celebration - This shift in tone across stanzas reveals a heteroglossic structure, where the same words begin to speak in different registers, destabilising any singular interpretation
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Heteroglossia (Multiple Narrative Voices), Rossetti is ventriloquising the dominant patriarchal voice while subtly embedding a counter-discourse of feminine complexity and resistance - Phrases such as “Her strength with weakness is overlaid” hint at a layered identity, where the external performance of submission masks an internal, perhaps moral, power - Through this, the poem performs what looks like doctrinal agreement, but contains textual tensions that raise questions about the legitimacy or suffocating nature of the role being celebrated
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Heteroglossia (Multiple Narrative Voices), Rossetti’s religious devotion coexists with an emotional reality that complicates the simplicity of theological assertions - On the surface, the poem affirms that woman exists for man’s stability and support, echoing the Tractarian worldview - But emotionally charged images introduce vulnerability and agency, creating a heteroglossic tension between the spiritual script and lived female experience
• The poem 'A Helpmeet for Him' uses Heteroglossia (Multiple Narrative Voices), this adopts the cadence of a liturgical affirmation, its use of paradox and emotional nuance suggests it is more than simple praise - The return to “Woman was made” begins to feel less celebratory and more constrictive, hinting at the psychological burden of being shaped entirely by another’s need - In this way, Rossetti embeds a proto-feminist critique within a seemingly obedient form, making the poem heteroglossic in its simultaneous reverence and quiet revolt