Title - Remember

• The Title 'Remember' acts as a direct request for the speaker to be kept alive in the thoughts of the beloved after death - In a Victorian context where death was a common preoccupation, memory becomes a means of achieving symbolic immortality - It reflects the human desire to leave a trace of oneself behind even in absence
• The Title 'Remember' urges remembrance, the poem later complicates this by suggesting that forgetting may bring more peace than sorrow - Thus, Remember becomes ironic, capturing the emotional conflict between holding on and letting go - The ambiguity in the title invites reflection on whether remembrance is a gift or a burden
• The Title 'Remember' imperatively resonates with the rituals of mourning in Victorian society, where commemoration of the dead was a formal and extended process - It suggests the societal expectation to memorialise the deceased as an act of love and respect - The title therefore aligns with the performative aspects of grief in Rossetti’s cultural milieu
• The Title 'Remember' acts as a subtle allusion to divine remembrance and the afterlife - The speaker does not ask for prayers or redemption but simply to be remembered, hinting at a quiet faith in spiritual continuity - The title can thus be read as a gesture of humility and spiritual detachment
• The Title 'Remember' may be seen as a gentle assertion of presence and identity - It is a command from a female speaker to not be forgotten, even in silence and death - This could reflect Rossetti’s own desire, as a woman and poet, to be acknowledged beyond her physical existence