Structure - Remember

• The poem 'Remember' uses Anaphora ("Remember me"), this foregrounds the speaker’s yearning to be preserved in the mind of the beloved after death - This repetition reflects a universal human anxiety about being forgotten and suggests that memory offers a form of emotional immortality - In a Victorian context obsessed with mourning and commemoration, the anaphora speaks to a broader cultural desire for posthumous significance
• The poem 'Remember' uses Anaphora ("Remember me"), this echoes the cadence of religious prayer or biblical lament, evoking a spiritual undercurrent within the poem - This gives the speaker’s plea a sacred quality, as if remembrance is not just a romantic request but a moral or spiritual duty - It subtly aligns with Rossetti’s Christian faith and the idea that the soul endures beyond death
• The poem 'Remember' uses Anaphora ("Remember me"), this produces a lyrical echo, reinforcing the poem’s meditative and mournful tone - The rhythmic return of “remember me” mirrors the repetitive and intrusive nature of grief itself, where memory constantly resurfaces - This stylistic choice deepens the emotional resonance, giving voice to a longing that persists beyond life
• The poem 'Remember' uses Anaphora ("Remember me"), although the poem is framed around the refrain “remember me,” the speaker ultimately shifts her tone and permits the possibility of being forgotten - The repetition becomes increasingly poignant as it is later undermined by the suggestion that it is “better by far” to forget and smile - This contrast between the repeated command and the later renunciation underscores the speaker’s internal conflict between self-preservation and altruistic love
• The poem 'Remember' uses Anaphora ("Remember me"), this crystallises memory as the central motif of the poem, suggesting that emotional bonds endure even after physical separation - “Remember me” becomes more than a phrase—it is a symbolic request for the mourner to preserve the essence of the speaker through thought and feeling - By repeating it, Rossetti elevates memory to an almost sacred act, implying that remembrance is not merely emotional but spiritual - In this sense, the plea for memory carries a divine resonance, echoing Christian notions of the soul’s endurance and the belief that love and remembrance can transcend mortal boundaries
• The poem 'Remember' uses a Sonnet Rhyme Scheme (ABBA ABBA CDD ECE), the enclosed rhyme scheme of the octave (ABBA ABBA) mirrors the speaker’s desire to impose structure and serenity on overwhelming emotions such as grief and loss - This symmetry creates a sense of calm containment, as if the speaker is carefully managing the pain of departure - Rossetti uses this ordered form to present death not as chaotic, but as something to be approached with dignity and reflection
• The poem 'Remember' uses a Sonnet Rhyme Scheme (ABBA ABBA CDD ECE), the change in rhyme scheme from the octave (ABBA ABBA) to the more irregular sestet (CDD ECE) marks the poem’s Volta - the pivotal shift in thought from a plea for remembrance to a gentle acceptance of forgetfulness - This visual and auditory disruption mirrors the speaker’s evolving emotional state, where certainty gives way to compassion - Rossetti thus uses the rhyme to signal emotional transformation as well as structural movement
• The poem 'Remember' uses a Sonnet Rhyme Scheme (ABBA ABBA CDD ECE), the ABBA structure wraps each stanza’s thought within itself, much like memory loops back and forth over the same moments - This sense of enclosure in the rhyme may symbolise the cyclical nature of remembering and grieving, where emotions recur and are never truly linear - It enhances the poem’s meditative tone, suggesting that memory - like the rhyme - folds back inward
• The poem 'Remember' uses a Sonnet Rhyme Scheme (ABBA ABBA CDD ECE), while Rossetti adheres to the Petrarchan structure, the CDD ECE pattern in the sestet diverges from the more expected CDE CDE or CDC DCD, reflecting a quiet rebellion - This subtle variation mirrors the thematic shift in the poem, where the speaker challenges her own initial desire to be remembered, offering instead emotional freedom to the mourner - The slightly unpredictable rhyme mirrors the emotional complexity of letting go
• The poem 'Remember' uses a Sonnet Rhyme Scheme (ABBA ABBA CDD ECE), the sonnet’s interwoven rhyme creates an elegant musicality that elevates the poem’s meditative tone - The seamless sound patterns suggest a harmony between earthly love and spiritual acceptance, reinforcing Rossetti’s recurring theme of divine resignation - The rhyme thus functions not only structurally, but also symbolically, reflecting a soul striving for grace in the face of mortality