Babylon the Great - "Plagues hid out of view..."

• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Repetitive, Imperative Commands adopts the tone of prophetic instruction, echoing the didactic voice of biblical scripture - Rossetti positions the speaker as a moral guardian, warning against the allure of sin that Babylon represents - The forceful imperative becomes a spiritual injunction, reflecting the poem’s cautionary and allegorical function - to lead the reader away from temptation and toward moral clarity
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Repetitive, Imperative Commands implicitly acknowledges the seductive power of Babylon and the frailty of the human will - The command not to gaze highlights the idea that even looking - a seemingly passive act - is the first step toward spiritual downfall - This interpretation presents humanity as easily corrupted, needing external commands and religious structure to resist the pull of sin
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Repetitive, Imperative Commands functions like a biblical prohibition, echoing commandments such as "Thou shalt not", and thus draws on a tradition of religious law - Rossetti suggests that spiritual purity depends on obedience to divine instruction, not personal judgment - Babylon becomes a test of faith, and the command becomes not just cautionary, but a measure of one’s discipline and submission to religious truth
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Repetitive, Imperative Commands could symbolise the Victorian tendency to suppress or deny the existence of female sexuality and power - Babylon’s "dancing whirl" is not inherently evil — it is dangerous because it captivates and unsettles male authority - In this reading, the imperative represents an effort to police desire, reinforcing patriarchal control by restricting the male gaze
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Repetitive, Imperative Commands warns not only against temptation but against deception - Babylon’s movement is described as a “dancing whirl”, which disorients and confuses; the command to look away becomes a protective act against illusion - Here, gazing symbolises the pursuit of false beauty, and the imperative acts as a safeguard against the mind being corrupted by appearances - reinforcing the poem’s moral that evil often masquerades as splendour
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Polyptoton of "gaze" and "gazer" amplifies the idea of persistent, obsessive attention - It suggests a dangerous fixity - not just the act of looking, but the transformation of the onlooker into one whose very identity becomes defined by that gaze - Rossetti critiques the compulsion to consume beauty, showing how the sinner is not only drawn in but fundamentally changed by what they behold
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Polyptoton and by repeating the root word in both verb (gaze) and noun (gazer) forms, Rossetti blurs the boundary between momentary desire and enduring selfhood - The act of looking becomes an existential shift - the subject who gazes becomes the gazer, marked permanently by their indulgence - This suggests that moral failure can begin with a fleeting glance but culminate in total corruption of character
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Polyptoton structurally mirrors the process of temptation and downfall - The shift from gaze to gazer charts a progression - from initial temptation to the individual’s full immersion in sin - Rossetti uses this rhetorical device to reflect the insidious nature of spiritual decay, warning that passive exposure to evil quickly becomes active participation
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Polyptoton highlights the idea that even a passive visual engagement with Babylon - a mere gaze - is enough to disorient the viewer - The transformation into a gazer reinforces the seductive power of Babylon and the threat she poses - In this context, polyptoton captures the destabilising effect of the feminine figure, aligning with Victorian anxieties about female sexuality and spiritual ruin
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Polyptoton and the repeated root suggests a cyclical entrapment, as if the act of gazing leads inevitably back to itself, creating a self-perpetuating loop - The gazer cannot look away; they are caught in the whirl of Babylon’s allure - Rossetti’s structure mimics this cycle, reinforcing the poem’s cautionary message: once enticed, escape becomes increasingly unlikely
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Metaphor ("Plagues") suggests that the consequences of sin are often hidden or obscured from immediate sight, much like a plague that silently spreads without warning - Rossetti uses this metaphor to convey that the true destruction caused by Babylon’s temptations is not immediately apparent, but rather, it is lurking beneath the surface, waiting to manifest once the individual is ensnared
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Metaphor ("Plagues") signifies the unseen spiritual decay that accompanies indulgence in temptation - While Babylon may appear enchanting and attractive on the surface, the "plagues" represent the internal rot - the spiritual consequences that the gazer cannot see, but will inevitably face - This metaphor reflects the idea that outward beauty can mask deep moral corruption
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Metaphor ("Plagues") and by describing the "plagues" as hidden, Rossetti warns that the consequences of sin are often not immediately visible, but they will eventually manifest - The metaphor highlights the delayed but inevitable consequences of indulgence in temptation, reinforcing the idea that one cannot escape the destructive effects of their actions, even if they seem hidden for a time
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Metaphor ("Plagues") can also be interpreted as a direct allusion to the biblical plagues in the Book of Exodus, which were hidden in the sense that they were mysterious and seemingly unstoppable until they became manifest - Rossetti may be drawing on this imagery to suggest that, like divine judgment, Babylon’s hidden plagues will eventually reveal themselves to those who fail to heed the warning - It reflects the inevitable reckoning that awaits those who fall into sin
• In 'Babylon the Great', the quote "Plagues hid out of view. Gaze not upon her, for her dancing whirl, turns giddy the fixed gazer presently", the use of Metaphor ("Plagues") can also represent the moral and emotional contagion of sin - Like a plague that infects from the inside, Babylon’s corrupting influence spreads silently, affecting the mind and soul without the victim realizing it until it is too late - The "plagues" symbolize the hidden, insidious ways that evil corrupts the soul - gradually, almost unnoticed, until it leads to irreversible damage