Title - Babylon the Great

• The Title 'Babylon the Great' serves as an allegory that refers to the Book of Revelation 17:5 in which the Whore of Babylon - otherwise known as ‘Babylon the Great’ and the ‘Mother of Prostitutes’ - appears as a terrible representation of evil - The image of sin is clearly very real to the speaker and, no doubt, to the Victorian audience who would read this - The title itself evokes an immediate sense of spiritual danger and signals the poem’s function as a moral warning against corruption, decadence, and false beauty
• The Title 'Babylon the Great' drips with irony, presenting grandeur and power while concealing moral degeneracy beneath the surface - Rossetti deliberately juxtaposes the majestic connotations of the word "Great" with the grotesque reality of spiritual decay, critiquing worldly success when it is rooted in vice - This interpretation suggests a condemnation not only of sensuality but of the institutions - religious, political, or cultural - that glorify sin under the guise of splendour
• The Title 'Babylon the Great' invokes a deeply gendered biblical archetype, positioning Babylon as the ultimate femme fatale - a woman whose body becomes a vessel for sin, seduction, and punishment - In adopting this title, Rossetti challenges readers to interrogate the societal impulse to equate female sexuality with evil, even as she works within the confines of that very tradition - The name "Babylon the Great" thus encapsulates both the fascination and fear surrounding female agency in a patriarchal context
• The Title 'Babylon the Great' and Historically, Babylon was a symbol of imperial grandeur, idolatry, and eventual ruin - a city that rose in splendour only to fall under the weight of its own corruption - By titling the poem “Babylon the Great,” Rossetti invites parallels between the ancient city’s fate and the moral decline of Victorian society, especially in its obsession with materialism and spectacle - The title becomes an emblematic warning that even the most exalted powers are not immune to divine retribution
• The Title 'Babylon the Great' foregrounds the inevitability of divine judgement, aligning the poem with the apocalyptic tone of Revelation where Babylon is prophesied to fall in flames - Rossetti’s use of this title not only signals destruction but frames it as necessary and redemptive - a purging of filth to restore spiritual order - It suggests that what is perceived as “great” in earthly terms will ultimately be exposed and consumed by higher, moral truths