Context - Remember

• 'Remember' reflects the Victorian era’s preoccupation with death and grief, especially during the national mourning following Prince Albert’s death in 1861 - Queen Victoria’s extended and public grief influenced a culture where mourning was expected, and poetry often served as a medium to process sorrow and remembrance - Rossetti’s sonnet, with its tender focus on memory and loss, aligns with this cultural landscape
• Rossetti composed 'Remember' in 1849, at just 19, during a time of emotional and spiritual turmoil - She had recently ended her engagement to James Collinson due to religious differences - This personal experience of loss and renunciation likely influenced the poem’s introspective tone - The sonnet reads as a contemplation on the impermanence of earthly love and the need for spiritual detachment, which mirrors Rossetti’s own commitment to her religious beliefs over romantic attachment
• As part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, Rossetti was surrounded by artists and writers who championed emotional sincerity, medievalism, and an intense focus on beauty and morality - 'Remember' shows this influence through its formal structure (a Petrarchan sonnet) and its exploration of love, memory, and spiritual transcendence - The poem’s restraint and melancholy echo Pre-Raphaelite ideals, especially the tension between sensual attachment and spiritual longing
• Although written earlier, Remember was published in Rossetti’s 1862 collection, a moment that marked her emergence as a major literary voice - The poem’s inclusion in Goblin Market and Other Poems - a collection known for exploring female identity, sacrifice, and emotional repression - situates it within a broader thematic framework - The poem becomes more than just personal reflection; it’s part of a wider conversation about the Victorian woman’s role in life, death, and memory, emphasizing passive endurance and moral dignity
• 'Remember' by Christina Rossetti employs the extended metaphor of a journey into the "silent land" to symbolise the passage from life into death - This metaphor not only evokes the Victorian fascination with the afterlife but also softens the harsh finality of death by presenting it as a gentle departure rather than a traumatic end - Through this imagery, Rossetti explores the tension between emotional attachment and spiritual resignation, urging the mourner to prioritise peace over persistent sorrow - The metaphor ultimately reinforces the speaker’s selfless love, suggesting that true remembrance may lie not in grief, but in the quiet continuation of life