Rediscovering Christina Georgina Rossetti

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894) is one of the most eminent Victorian poetesses in the nineteenth century who devotes her life to the goodness of others and, more importantly, to her fervent belief in religion. Her devotional poetry which seeks to spread and increase religious knowledge is technically characterized by a charming mixture of extreme conciseness of manner, ease of style and accordance with traditional poetic practices, such as repetitive diction and syntax, regular meters, commonplace refrains and images derived from nature or religion. Thematically, these works are records of the poetess'emotional waxing and waning of spiritual values and adoration for God, such as speculation about the significance of Christ's sacrifice, longing for afterlife, weariness of earthly existence, and admiration for the omnipresent power and love of the Master. She wins wide recognition in her time, but her reputation suffers with the rise of New Criticism. Even today, she is undervalued and neglected most of the time. Therefore, the author of this thesis springs from a motivation to rediscover Christina Rossetti and to reevaluate her literary position through appreciation of the genuineness and excellence of her work.This paper is in six chapters. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to the life and works of Christina Rossetti, together with a review of relevant studies on this poetess. Critics approach Rossetti's works, at the very start, through the examination of her piety and subdued style, and then view her works as reflections and interpretations of her unsuccessful love. Feminists in the 1960s and 1970s revalue Rossetti's poetry and expand traditional interpretations of her poems. For example, they read Goblin Market as an attempt to reconstruct Christianity's myths about man's fall from grace. Since George Bernhard Tennyson (1930-2007), the stylistic and thematic similarities between the poetry of Tractarians and that of Christina Rossetti are brought into light. Modern critics'perspectives to appreciate Christina Rossetti's text are more active. The last twenty years witnesses thirteen important books and dozens of M.A. or Ph. D dissertations dedicated to the poetess.Chapter Two discusses different understandings of devotional poetry with a literature review of Christina Rossetti's devotional works.In the following chapters, the author attempts to probe into the characteristics of Christina Rossetti's devotional poetry. Chapter Three penetrates into the repetitive mode in her devotional works, which is categorized into thematic and formal repetitiveness. Thematic repetitiveness illuminates the genuineness and honesty of the poetess who plunges only into the field she is familiar with; as far as formal repetitiveness is concerned, the repeated three-part pattern endows her works with divine orderliness, dignity, and congruity and it is through phrasal repetition that these poems achieve emphasis and cohesion.Chapter Four deals with the nonpersonal style of Christina Rossetti's devotional works, for which her reputation suffers after her death. Christina Rossetti is an orthodox writer. Firstly, the emotions in her poetry are universal; and secondly, compared with her contemporary poets, such as American poetess Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), Christina Rossetti resists rhetorical displays in her works. This insistence on reserved poetic style is, in view of the author of this paper, a reflection of Rossetti's personal character and her admirable intention to clarify her texts so as to make the mysterious religious knowledge familiar and to spread Christian knowledge to all.The richness of imagery in Christina Rossetti's devotional works is elaborated in Chapter Five. Categorically speaking, her images may be natural, religious and visual, as can be illustrated through the examination of particular texts. Spousal imagery embodies the relationship between the Master and mankind. As a lover of animals and flowers, Christina Rossetti is fond of creating such images derived from nature in her poetry. Not only do nature images speak for the poetess'spiritual state of mind, but they also tend to represent the divine. Lastly, visual imagery is examined in due course.Chapter Six is the conclusion. The author of this dissertation summarizes the previous chapters and makes an appeal to reinstate Christina Rossetti in literature. Currently, Christina Rossetti is largely overlooked in China, and few scholars have turned their eyes to this elusive Victorian poetess. The author of this paper hopes that this situation can be changed in a few years to come.