What Would I Give? - "Heart of Flesh..."

• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Metaphor closely mirrors Ezekiel 36:26, where God declares He will replace the "heart of stone" with a "heart of flesh" - a symbol of repentance, divine mercy, and moral transformation - Rossetti, writing from within a High Anglican tradition, channels this scriptural reference to express a desperate plea for spiritual regeneration - The "heart of flesh" becomes an emblem of receptivity to grace and the warmth of divine love, contrasting sharply with the lifeless "heart of stone" - The speaker’s yearning reflects a desire for spiritual purification and restoration in the face of inner desolation
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Metaphor captures a tension between emotional suppression and the longing for sensitivity - The "heart of stone" evokes an image of emotional numbness - closed off, hardened, and impenetrable - whereas the "heart of flesh" suggests openness, softness, and the capacity to feel deeply - The speaker desires to break free from their emotional paralysis and return to a state of vulnerability, even if it entails suffering - Warmth here becomes a sign of life, feeling, and the possibility of love or renewal through pain
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Metaphor symbolises a deep inner alienation, where the speaker’s own heart feels foreign and unresponsive - The cold, small, and hard heart is depicted almost as something external - no longer integrated with the speaker’s being or will - By yearning for a “heart of flesh,” the speaker seeks not only emotional warmth but reconnection with a lost or diminished self - This loss of interior cohesion reflects a broader spiritual crisis, suggesting that restoration is only possible through internal transformation
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Metaphor could represent a return to qualities culturally coded as feminine—compassion, tenderness, and moral purity - The “stone” heart stands as a symbol of the moral coldness that society - or the individual - may acquire in a fallen world - Rossetti’s speaker, as a woman writing in the 19th century, may be subtly critiquing how emotional hardness is at odds with her moral and spiritual ideals - The metaphor thus becomes a moral lament for the loss of spiritual femininity and softness in a harsh and indifferent world
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Metaphor and the juxtaposition of flesh and stone, warmth and coldness, suggests a desire not just for emotional change but for a deeper metaphysical renewal - The speaker’s use of bodily imagery - "to warm me through" - implies that the change must penetrate to the soul’s core, affecting every aspect of her being - Warmth operates as more than physical comfort; it signifies the return of life, movement, and spiritual animation - The metaphor bridges the corporeal and the spiritual, expressing a longing to be awakened from inner lifelessness
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Sibilance and the recurring "s" sounds mimic a soft whisper, creating a tone of intimacy that draws the reader closer to the speaker’s inner anguish - This hushed, breathy effect suggests that the speaker is confessing a deeply personal and painful truth, almost too fragile to be spoken aloud - It gives the poem a confessional quality, as though her longing for emotional transformation can only be voiced in a low, trembling voice - Sibilance thus becomes a stylistic echo of the speaker’s spiritual vulnerability
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Sibilance reflects a speaker who is emotionally muted or restrained, struggling to articulate suffering that feels locked beneath the surface - The repetition of soft consonants implies a quiet repression - pain that simmers silently rather than erupting with passion or fury - This subdued sonic texture mirrors the speaker’s psychological numbness, aligning with the coldness and hardness of the stone heart she describes - The technique reinforces the sense of internal stasis and isolation that runs through the poem
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Sibilance introduces a slightly sinister or unsettling tone, as the “s” sounds can evoke a hissing quality, reminiscent of deceit, temptation, or spiritual corruption - This creates an undercurrent of moral decay, aligning with the biblical imagery of a “heart of stone” representing sinfulness or alienation from God - The poem thus subtly suggests that the speaker’s cold-hearted state is not only emotionally desolate but spiritually dangerous - The phonetic texture enhances the tension between divine grace and internal corruption
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Sibilance and despite describing a heart that is cold and small, the sibilance injects a certain softness into the line’s delivery - This sonic contrast emphasises the speaker’s yearning for warmth and humanity even within a bleak emotional state - The gentle sounds undercut the hardness of the imagery, revealing that beneath the speaker’s perceived spiritual barrenness, a quiet hope or tenderness still persists - It highlights the tension between the speaker’s current state and the grace she longs to attain
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Sibilance slows the rhythm, making the line feel heavy and final - This lingering effect mimics the emotional stagnation the speaker feels - she is trapped in this state of coldness regardless of her actions - The sibilance reinforces a cyclical sense of despair, where no effort can thaw the spiritual frost - It helps convey the poem’s central theme of entrapment in sin or suffering, despite a deep desire for transformation
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Polysyndeton serves to amplify the emotional weight of the speaker’s despair - Each conjunction adds to the sense of being trapped in an unyielding emotional state - Rather than presenting these negative qualities in isolation, the repeated use of "and" makes each trait feel inextricably linked, underscoring the overwhelming, cumulative nature of the speaker’s suffering
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Polysyndeton slows the rhythm of the line, forcing the reader to linger on each word - This pause after every conjunction mirrors the speaker’s prolonged agony, as she is stuck in a state of emotional inertia - It forces the reader to reflect more deeply on each attribute, making the “hard,” “cold,” and “small” qualities feel more pronounced and permanent
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Polysyndeton could represent the psychological confinement of the speaker, as if each trait of the "heart of stone" is a separate but connected barrier preventing any emotional freedom - The constant connection between the adjectives emphasizes that these traits do not exist separately - they are intertwined in the speaker’s inner world, building a sense of entrapment - The “and” signals a lack of escape, as if the speaker cannot move beyond these states of hardness, coldness, and smallness
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Polysyndeton invokes a feeling of inevitability and fate - It suggests that the speaker is trapped in this unchanging state, as if each "and" is binding her to a fixed and unalterable emotional condition - The relentless connection of adjectives echoes the cyclical nature of her suffering, unable to be broken or alleviated, thus reinforcing the sense that her condition is permanent
• In 'What Would I Give?', the quote "Heart of flesh to warm me through, Instead of this heart of stone ice-cold whatever I do; Hard and cold and small", the use of Polysyndeton also serves to create a monotonous, almost mechanical rhythm in the line - The repeated conjunctions deny the possibility of variation or relief, reinforcing the bleakness of the speaker’s emotional state - This monotony mirrors the dull, lifeless heart she describes, making the tone of the poem feel trapped in a cycle of repetitive sorrow