Explore The Way Rossetti Presents Nature In Her Poems.

      
              Rossetti uses nature as a metaphor for God and her religious beliefs. Rossetti was an Anglican and and viewed God in a positive way, especially in the poem 'A Birthday.'In the poem 'A Birthday' Rossetti uses the simile 'my heart was like a singing bird,' which illustrates the freedom of her religion, the speaker is not consumed by religion she is still free to love. Religion does not hold Rossetti back. 'Singing,' connotes to the reader an image of happiness and joy she feels from this freedom, this signifies the voices of joy with God and love. Rossetti continues to praise God. She describes Gods omniscience through symbolic 'peacocks with a hundred eyes,' peacocks illustrate beauty which indicates how Rossetti sees God as beautiful and all seeing she is continually praising Gods beauty and Knowledge.
           Rossetti continues to use nature to portray other themes throughout her poems. One poem that shows relationships through nature is 'song.' Rossetti herself was never married , however she had many suitors. 'song' reflects Rossetti's non-traditional perception of life. Rossetti was not a cliche; the poem 'song' indicates this clearly. Rossetti's use of Iambic trimeter, 'plant thou no roses at my head,' illustrates how the speaker does not want 'roses' connoting to love. She does not want her partners love after shes dead. This does not fit with the Victorian ideas of death and mourning as they had big ceremonies and would mourn years after their death. Rossetti goes on to use nature to describe what the voice wants her partner to be 'Be the green grass above me,' this foregrounds how Rossetti is using alliteration 'green grass' to connote to life. This highlights how the voice wants her partner to carry on living even though shes dead.
In the second stanza Rossetti uses 'twiligh' to show how the voice, by dying, has broken free from the relationship 'And dreaming through the twilight that doth not rise nor set,' Rossetti uses 'dreaming' to draw attention to the end of the relationship due to her death. The voice is now just 'dreaming.' The relationship has gone.
           The roles of women played a big part in Rossetti's life. During the Victorian era women were known as the angel of the domestic sphere. In the poem 'Goblin Market,' Christina Rossetti showed Lizzie as a women stereotype and Laura as the transgressed sister. Rossetti used nature and 'fruits' to signify sensual temptation the women morally had to resist. Rossetti describes the Goblin Men like animals. 'One had a cats face, One whisked a tail' this foregrounds how the Goblin Men are animalistic and listen to there primative brain to give into sensual temptations. Rossetti implies that both girls at first are innocent. 'Laura stretched her gleeming neck Like a rush-imbedded swan,' this illustrates Lauras curiousity and transgressive nature; futhermore Rossetti describes Laura as a 'swan' which connotes to elegance, which is futher on ruined when she gives in to the temptations of the fruits. Rossetti describes the fruit as 'sweeter than honey,' this draws attention to how the 'fruits' may seem 'sweet' and perfect. 'Sweet' connotes to innocence which implies that Laura may feel she is doing nothing wrong by eating the fruit; giving into temptation. The 'fruit' is deceptive. Later on in the poem when Laura gives into the temptations of the fruit. Rossetti uses nature to show the loss of Lauras innocence. 'To swift decay and burn her fire away.' This exemplifies Lauras loss of innocence 'her fire' representing her innocence, has been lost.