The Poem
• The wind flapped loose, the wind was still,
Shaken out dead from tree and hill:
I had walked on at the wind's will, —
I sat now, for the wind was still.
• Between my knees my forehead was, —
My lips, drawn in, said not Alas!
My hair was over in the grass,
My naked ears heard the day pass.
• My eyes, wide open, had the run
Of some ten weeds to fix upon;
Among those few, out of the sun,
The woodspurge flowered, three cups in one.
• From perfect grief there need not be
Wisdom or even memory:
One thing then learnt remains to me, —
The woodspurge has a cup of three.
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Name: Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Born 12 May 1828
Died 9 April 1882
Age of Death 53 years, 10 month, 28 days
Family : Rossetti was the third child of an unusually gifted family which provided a rich
cultural background. Rossetti's father, Gabriel, was a political exile who fled Italy because of
his liberal activities and writing, later becoming a professor of Italian at King's College in
London and publishing several critical works that established him as an authority on the great
Italian poet Dante. Rossetti's mother, Frances Mary Lavina Polidori, of mixed English and
Italian blood, was a remarkable teacher devoting herself to educating her four children in the
home. She taught them English, French, and Italian literature and encouraged their creativity.
Rossetti himself was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He is also one of the
founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 (a group of English painter, poets, and
critics, also with John Everett Millais and William Holman Hunt)
Brother to Christina Rossetti
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Britain in the 1800s had changed little
in centuries. It was a rural. It is also the
end of the Classical period in music and
culture, and moving into the Romantic
period.
Britain saw a huge population increase
accompanied by rapid urbanization
stimulated by the Industrial Revolution.
The large numbers of skilled and unskilled
people looking for work kept wages down
to barely subsistence level. Available
housing was scarce and expensive,
resulting in overcrowding.
Victorian morality is a distillation of the
moral views of people living at the time of
Queen Victoria’s reign (1837 - 1901) and of
the moral climate of Great Britain
throughout the 19th century in general,
which contrasted greatly with the morality
of the previous Georgian period. Victorian
morality can describe any set of values that
espouse sexual restraint, low tolerance of
crime and a strict social code of conduct.
Due to the prominence of the British
Empire, many of these values were spread
across the world.
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Written when Rossetti is 28 in 1856, using simple language like his sister, expressing himself
in deep grief and isolation. Also just like his sister, using images of nature as he end up
focusing on a little three pedal plant, a wood-spurge. While using this flower to symbolize
nature, it also stands for its religious significance.
The use of this simple language also indicates the simplicity of nature which in the end, acts
as a spiritual force to guide and comfort him, as he is overwhelmed by grief and sadness due
to the death of his wife
In particular, the death of his wife Elizabeth Siddal had a big impact on his life and work. She
had taken an overdose of laudanum (opium alcohol) shortly after giving birth to a stillborn
child. Rossetti became increasingly depressed, and upon the death of his beloved Elizabeth,
buried the bulk of his published poems with her at Highgate Cemetery, though he would later
have them dug back up….
Things to consider…
Is the poet really just seeing a little plant?
What does he learn from this experience?
What is the meaning of “cup of three” and how is it related to religion?
Pay close attention to the rhythm scheme.
The poem starts with the line “the wind flapped loose, the wind was still,”
creating a depressive mood befitting the innermost feelings of the poet at
the time. The fact that the “wind is still” also indicates his disappointment
and his loss of faith in socio-political life of England at the time.
The depressive mood is reinforced
by the image of death in the line
“shaken out dead from tree and
hill”, which generates a stifling
atmosphere engulfing the poet
with its indication of lifelessness.
Then the poet states that “I had
walked on at the wind’s will,”
creating a sense of close
relationship between him and
nature, which foregrounds the
uplifting power of nature he is
going to receive towards the end
of the poem.
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Then in the next stanza, the simple description of his
actions further indicates his depressive feeling and
contemplation. “Between my knees my forehead was,”
creating a vivid image of dejection and despair which the
poet experiences. The poet’s low spirit continues and
worsens as he says “My lips, drawn in, said not Alas!”
indicating a strong feeling and an extreme low spirit feeling.
Not only does the poet feel depressed, there is also a loss in faith in the visionary that every
writer needs. The sad and depressive image is further extended as the poet describes
himself: “My hair was over in the grass. / My naked ears heard the day pass”, generating a
sense of coldness. He is there alone to feel grief and sadness for a long time.
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While still in grief and
contemplation, the poet finds
hope to uplift his spirit as he
sees the flowering of a wood
spurge - “The Woodspurge
flowered, three cups in one.”
This three-petal flower not only
gives a sense of nature but also
a strong sense of religion
relating the holy trinity, both of
which offer him an uplifting
power. As well as the holy
trinity, the mention of the sun
this is a connotation of God and
religious ideas - “Among those
few, out of the sun.”
Also, the three-petal flower stands for his wish to have by his side his
wife, whose death may have been the main reason for his present griefstricken state of mind, as the flower firmly holds its loved ones the way
it holds its petals.
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After their epiphanic (realization) moment he realizes that there is nothing to be learnt and
gained from grief - “From perfect grief there need not be / Wisdom or even memory.” The
oxymoronic description of perfect grief implies the poet’s sarcastic opinion of poems or
philosophical wisdom that derives from grief, or more specifically, bereavement(his wife).
The reason for this is given: “One thing then learnt remains
to me / The Woodspurge has a cup of three”. He realizes that
that there is no need for such depressive feeling of sadness,
now that he can enjoy the soothing and comforting power of
nature and holy trinity as embodied in the Woodspurge.