The Oxford Movement

• The Oxford Movement was a 19th-century religious movement within the Church of England that sought to revive older Catholic traditions and practices within Anglicanism
• The Oxford Movement officially began in 1833 when Oxford academic John Keble delivered his famous sermon 'National Apostasy', warning against government interference in the Church
• Key figures of the Oxford Movement included John Keble, Edward Bouverie Pusey, and John Henry Newman
• A central method of spreading their ideas was through the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), a series of pamphlets arguing for the divine authority of the Church and advocating a return to early Christian traditions
• The Oxford Movement officially began when Oxford academic John Keble delivered his famous sermon 'National Apostasy', warning against government interference in the Church in 1833
• The Tracts for the Times (1833-41) emphasized apostolic succession, the sacraments, and the importance of tradition alongside scripture
• The Oxford Movement led to a revival of liturgical practices, church rituals, and a deeper sense of spiritual seriousness within Anglican worship
• The Oxford Movement indirectly helped bring women more fully into the life of the Church through the development of sisterhoods and organized religious communities, giving women greater religious agency
• The Oxford Movement's broader impact was the beginning of Anglo-Catholicism - a tradition within Anglicanism that blends Catholic theology and practices with Protestant reform
• Tractarianism is the set of religious ideas promoted by the Oxford Movement, centred around the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), which argued for the authority of the Church, the importance of apostolic succession, the sacraments, and a return to early Christian traditions within Anglicanism
• The Oxford Movement, through its advocacy of Church authority and sacramental theology, deeply influenced Rossetti’s preoccupation with divine judgment and spiritual obedience - Tractarianism’s reverence for tradition and ecclesiastical hierarchy resonates in her poems' frequent submission to divine will - Her poetry often reflects the Oxford Movement’s belief in the supremacy of spiritual law over worldly desires
• Tractarianism’s emphasis on personal sacrifice and the renunciation of earthly pleasures permeates Rossetti’s poetic worldview - Influenced by the Oxford Movement’s ideals, her verses recurrently portray spiritual salvation as achievable only through denial of self and rejection of materialism - This internalisation of Tractarian values imbues her poetry with a tone of ascetic beauty and restrained passion
• The Oxford Movement’s sacramental view - that the material world can embody divine truths - manifests in Rossetti’s frequent use of rich natural imagery as vehicles for spiritual meaning - Tractarianism taught her to see everyday experiences as reflections of eternal realities, shaping the deeply symbolic nature of her poetic landscapes - Thus, her work often transforms the mundane into a site of sacred revelation
• Tractarianism’s veneration of purity, repentance, and redemption crucially shaped Rossetti’s depiction of human frailty and divine mercy - Her portrayal of fallen women, for example, mirrors the Oxford Movement’s belief that moral regeneration is possible through penitence and grace - Rossetti’s poetic narratives often echo the Tractarian call for spiritual restoration through humility and faith
• The Oxford Movement arose partly in reaction to religious doubt and secularism, a tension Rossetti wrestled with in her poetry - Although loyal to the ideals of Tractarianism, her work frequently explores the struggles of faith in a fractured, uncertain world - This influence lends her poetry its distinctive oscillation between spiritual assurance and existential unease