MONNA INNOMINATA (I wish I could remember) I wish I could remember that first day, First hour, first moment of your meeting me, If bright or dim the season, it might be Summer or Winter for aught I can say; So unrecorded did it slip away, So blind was I to see and to foresee, So dull to mark the budding of my tree That would not blossom for many a May. If only I could recollect it, such A day of days! I let it come and go As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow; It seemed to mean so little, meant so much; If only now I could recall that touch, First touch of hand in hand—Did one but know! Christina Rossetti (1830­1894) ​
Christina Rossetti BACKGROUND The title of the poem means ‘unknown lady’. The two women who are the subject of the greatest Italian sonnets, Petrarch’s Laura and Dante’s Beatrice, are unknown and have no voice. Christina Rossetti was one of the greatest feminist Victorian poets and declined three men’s offers of marriage from eligible suitors. The title of ​
J.K. Rowling​
's (author of ​
Harry Potter​
) novel ​
The Cuckoo's Calling​
is based on a line in Rossetti's poem ​
A Dirge​
. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE POEM? This sonnet is about reminiscing on a first love/ or love lost. The author "wishes", meaning she wants to hold onto the warmth and excitement of the innocence of first love. There is an element of regret throughout at not recognising more the worth of those first days and hours. The poet says it was a day that made an impact "day of days" but he/ she let it come and go. The first 4 lines​
focus on time, ‘day’, ‘hour’ and ‘moment’ and the season which she cannot remember. The next 4 lines​
show regret at not marking the moment and a love which did not come to fullness. She was ‘blind’ and ‘dull’ to a blossoming tree of love. The final 6 lines​
(the sestet) shows a nostalgia and a sense of the fleeting moment of first love which is compared to melting snow. WHAT ARE THE MAIN IDEAS and THEMES? ­ Love, the innocence and excitement of first love
­ Regret e.g. ‘If only’, ‘I wish’, ‘Did one but know!’
­ Transitory nature of the moment e.g. ‘As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow’
­ Longing for the excitement of new love e.g. ‘meant so much’, ‘recall that touch’
WHAT ARE THE ASPECTS OF STYLE WHICH ARE EFFECTIVE? ● It is sonnet which is a 14 line poem with a regular rhyme scheme and in this example a structure of 8 lines (the octave) and then 6 lines (the sestet). The sonnet comes from Italian lyrical love poetry and involve intense personal feelings. ● There are a lot of references to time ‘day’, ‘hour’, ‘moment’, season’ ● It has a very personal voice ‘I wish’, ‘If only’ and has a strong emotional longing and regret. Notice it finishes with an exclamation mark!