Radio 4 - Christina Rossetti

After listening to the programme on Christina Rossetti, I gathered a few notations that I found particularly interesting.

·         Her family had strong Italian routes and her father was a Professor of Italian and her mother had strong literacy connections which had a big impact on Rossetti. Her childhood also influenced her to write due to the exposure of fairy tales and ballads.

·         She was not a feminist as she had a strong sense of Church hierarchy which allowed her to be very faithful, but she did use her religion to portray women in a very empowering way. Also, when things appear to be secular they are infused with religiosity and her work involves intense experiences that perhaps link in with her past.

·         A lot of her work focused on mysteries and secrets which is ripe for people who want to reveal secrets and this was highlighted in the discussion and she only gives you half the verse so she expects the reader to fill in the second half.

·         In the poem “Goblin Market”, Lizzie goes back to her sister and restores her and this part in the poem could be described as lascivious and it is used for all sorts of illustrations; graphic and lesbian. The poem also focuses around the two sisters which allows us to explore the availabilities of roles for women.

Marie Antoinette, also known as "DE OTHA BITCH"

So der was dis gal marie who was well fit who fort that her desnity n all dhat was to be the queen of france or sum other city or sumit. Dis sugga ting den started slaggin it up n got tied to sum lad who was a price or sumit when she was 15, megga slag deya, n den dis price or sumit was whipped lyk a mc flurry ygm coz dey den tied de not n ting.


Peeps was den slaggin her off coz she was well out ov order 2 her bitches n tht n she fort she woz all dhat coz she woz now a well royal sugga ting wid her bitches. De peeps den got de shank knifez n megga glocks n ting n went to deya crib n shizzle den started 2 agwarn. Sugga ting n de king den wnted 2 jog off 2 sum place lyk pussy oles but dey didnt 4 sme reason n den austria n sme otha well ard cuntry wanted 2 kick de shiz out ov france coz sugga ting woz bein well 2 faced.


Sugga ting n her royal family den got thrown in de pen n sugga ting den got well slagged off by ppl n one ov her bitches den got scilenced coz ov connections ygm. Sugga tingz lil 1s den got taken away n one ov em got scilenced 2 coz he stopped eatin.. malutrition kmt.


Sugga ting den stalked de king lyk a physco n den she got finally got scilenced.


R.I.P sugga ting.

How does Austen create her characters in Chapter 11?

As you read further into the book 'Pride and Prejudice', you soon realise that there is very little description of the characters and where it does appear it serves to highlight some element of the character. You may then conclude from this that it is not the appearance of the characters that interests Austen, but their moral qualities and we can form our own opinions of the characters through not only their external elements such as their appearance, name and actions, but by also taking into consideration their internal elements such as their motives, what they think and what the narrator says. In chapter 11, Austen creates her characters by drawing awareness to these elements using numerous amounts of effective methods.

In the first paragraph, Elizabeth’s opinions about her two friends are shown through the narrator’s voice as the narrator informs us that she had "never seen them so agreeable". This supports the argument that Elizabeth is the centre of thought throughout the book so that it grants authority to her opinion and allows the reader to stay with her. Also, differences between the three men are shown when it says that Darcy addressed himself "with a polite congratulation" and Mr Hurst "also made her a slight bow", however "warmth remained for Bingley's salutation" and the word "but" highlights the informality that differentiates Mr Bingley from Mr Darcy and Mr Hurst as he has a very formal manner which contrasts with their informal approach.

Another character who is created in the Chapter is Miss Bingley who has a methodical plan and motives in securing Darcy by marrying him which is suggested when it says "she has obtained private intelligence that Mr Darcy did not wish for cards" and also when she mimics him in attempt to attract his attention: "Darcy took up a book; Miss Bingley did the same". The implication that she is only doing things for the motive of Mr Darcy continues to come across strongly as you read deeper into the chapter and, in comparison to Elizabeth, you may start to question her genuineness as she was "much engaged in watching Mr Darcy's progress through his book, as in reading her own" . Also, the fact that she felt "exhausted" as she was reading the book and yet she says "how pleasant it is to spend an evening in this way" shows us that she is hypocritical and Austen then allows the subjection of her foolish ways to mockery as she only chose the book she is reading because "it was the second volume of his".

Moreover, the interaction between the characters comes across as quite awkward at times due the silence created by not replying to each other comments, such as when "Miss Bingley made no reply" to her brother and "no one made any reply" to Miss Bingley. Also, Mr Darcy loses concentration in what he is doing when Elizabeth draws attention to herself which is shown when he "unconsciously closed his book". This is not what occurs when Miss Bingley attempts to gain his focus on what she is saying/doing, therefore underneath Mr Darcy must have an attraction towards her however Elizabeth does not feel this attraction towards him as she deliberately wants to him to feel disappointment: "our surest way of disappointing him, will be to ask nothing about it". This contrasts with Miss Bingley’s approach as she was "incapable of disappointing Mr Darcy".

Other notes

·         Austen uses a lack of attribution in the Chapter to show the level of interest that the characters have towards each other and how connected they are.

·         Character awareness – Mr Darcy starts to analyse his own character, which is shown when it says “my temper would perhaps be called resentful”, therefore he is becoming aware of who he is. However, he is also becoming aware of who Elizabeth is as the chapter finishes with “he began to feel the danger of paying Elizabeth too much attention”, meaning that he is taking risks in order to get to know Elizabeth.

·         Elizabeth and Mr Darcy become flirtatious and focused on each other during the end of   the chapter which is shown when Mr Darcy mimics Elizabeth by saying “and your”. He also listens willingly to what she believes are his faults and then changes what he says for Elizabeth, which is implied when he pauses after “and pride”, showing that he allows her to change his mind.

Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose books, set among the English middle and upper classes, are notable for their wit, social observation and insights into the lives of early 19th century women.


Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 in the village of Steventon in Hampshire. She was one of eight children of a clergyman and grew up in a close-knit family. She began to write as a teenager. In 1801 the family moved to Bath. After the death of Jane's father in 1805 Jane, her sister Cassandra and their mother moved several times eventually settling in Chawton, near Steventon.


Jane's brother Henry helped her negotiate with a publisher and her first novel, 'Sense and Sensibility', appeared in 1811. Her next novel 'Pride and Prejudice', which she described as her "own darling child" received highly favourable reviews. 'Mansfield Park' was published in 1814, then 'Emma' in 1816. 'Emma' was dedicated to the prince regent, an admirer of her work. All of Jane Austen's novels were published anonymously.


In 1816, Jane began to suffer from ill-health, probably due to Addison's disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on 18 July 1817. Two more novels, 'Persuasion' and 'Northanger Abbey' were published posthumously and a final novel was left incomplete.


Jane’s novels reflect life in the world of the English country gentry as she herself had lived it and due to her amusing plots and the wit and irony of her style, her works have not been out of print since they were first published and she is consequently one of the best known and highly regarded authors in the English-speaking world.

Pride and Prejudice - Time line

Here is the link to my time line! http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pride-and-prejudice--5 I copied most of it off the internet, but it gives me a clear understanding of what order the events come in the book. I hope it is okay!

The Convent Threshold

In my last English lesson i was introduced to another poem by Christina Rossetti known as "The Convent Threshold". After reading through the poem once, I was confused as to what the possible destinations and morals etc of the poem were. However, after sharing thoughts and looking at the poem in more depth and detail, I concluded a few ideas and suggestions that could be put forward when analysing the poem.

The poem is written in first person as the character is speaking directly to someone who she calls “my love”, showing that the poem is going to be very intimate and personal. Also, tension along with a sense of unease starts to build in the atmosphere as our present speaker confronts us with the fact that she is no longer innocent and pure by saying “my lily feet are soiled with mud”, showing that she has sinned. This also strengthens the argument that she believes Earth is her hell as the words that are used to suggest the fact that she is now impure and somewhat dirty are early therefore this could imply that Earth reminds her of her sin. The sin could be that she victimised and murdered someone, therefore when it says her feet are soiled with “mud” that is described as “scarlet” it could suggest the burial of her bloody murder and how she is continuously reminded of this incident. On the other hand, she might have had sex before marriage with the lover she is speaking with and she may strongly believe that this was a sin; therefore the theme of religion could then be brought into the poem.

As we read further into the poem, we discover that the character who is speaking wants to seek forgiveness and purify in heaven as Rossetti creates numerous amounts of heavenly imagery, such as when it says “of mansions” and “wake to sing”. She is desperate for her lover to repent with her so that they can be together for eternity in heaven, showing that she wants more than just her lifetime on Earth which suggests gluttony. She also believes that heaven will not be heaven without their love and that “paradise” cannot compare with the love they feel for each other, which is shown when it says “Or sit on steps of heaven alone?” However, her dream of their life in heaven contrasts with her lover’s dream as he is content on Earth and therefore rejects the girl when he says “find you a warmer playfellow” as in his eyes Earth is his idea of heaven; "your eyes look earthward, mine look up". This is ironic as I previously argued that she believes Earth is hell-like as it reminds her of her sin and the fact that he is happy with staying on Earth and will not repent suggests that his is not religious and does not believe he has sinned.

Furthermore, it could also be argued that there is a theme of redemption in the poem as it says that when they “stand safe within the door”, suggesting the door of heaven, he will “lift the veil” which shows that she wants them to get married in heaven so that she can be redeemed and forgiven for her sin which in this case is sex before marriage. However, heaven could just be her escapism or she may just be scared that her lover is going to replace her with another women therefore if he repents he will be hers for eternity and she will then be put at ease over the matter of replacement.

Cousin Kate

In my English lesson this week we discussed in class what a "fallen women" could represent. I suggested that a fallen women could be a women who has fallen into a man’s trap of sex and drugs or seduction, but as i was saying it i realised how feminist i sounded so i hope i didn't give off the wrong impression. On the other hand, other suggestions were mentioned that intrigued me, such as the term could represent a women who has fallen from heaven, therefore a women who is pure and innocent. The reason why we had this discussion was because it linked in with the new poem that we are beginning to analysis known as "Cousin Kate", which is also written by Christina Rossetti.


As we read through and annotated the poem it became clear to me why we were asked to explore ideas of what a fallen woman could suggest as the speaker in the poem is one herself. The feminine speaker "was a cottage maiden", therefore she was once innocent until she became victimised and something, or someone, changed her. Ever since then she has been discarded by society aswe discover in the second stanza that it was a man who "lured" her and convinced her into loving him which made her feel ashamed as she became a fallen women and therefore an outcast (someone who people disapprove of).


The speaker then starts to make the reader become aware of her emotions, which include jealousy towards the more beautiful “Cousin Kate” who has been “lifted” her from her low social status by the man she once loved and, perhaps, she may also feel regret as she wonders “why did a great lord find me out”. However, the ending of the poem is very effective and unpredictable as we comprehend the fact that she is differs from the traditional idea of the fallen women as she has gained a son, who is her “shame” but also her “pride”. She therefore has something that Cousin Kate will never have, which is suggested when it says “and seem not like to get” and makes us feel content for our speaker as although society believes she has committed a shameful sin, she is in control and has the care and love of her son to be gifted with.


I didn't really know what to write but i hope this is okay!

Interpretations

In my most recent English lesson we continued to look at the interpretations in the poem. The class was split into five groups and each group was given an interpretation to look into with more detail. My group was given Marxist, which I thought was a weak interpretation at first until I wrote about it in the blog post below and my interest grew as well as the strength of my argument that it could be interpreted into the poem. However, due to the fact we were only given one interpretation to discuss within the group we were not very clear on how the other interpretation could fit into the poem which is why the class had a group discussion on the other interpretations that were involved such as; Feminist, Erotic, Redemption and Morality.


Morality is, in my opinion, a very important interpretation. Rossetti was very religious and this is shown in many of her poems, especially the Goblin Market, therefore morality can be interpreted strongly throughout the poem. When Lizzie suffers to save Laura this could represent an illusion of the Christian story when Jesus is crucified as she is sacrificing herself in order for Laura to survive. Also, it could be argued that the story of Adam and Eve links in with parts of the poem as the fruit could be the sin and the goblins could represent the serpent, therefore they may been seen as devil like. In addition, when it says “soul consuming care” the word “soul” shows that they believe in high power and that what you do affects your soul. Rossetti also puts forward the idea that you have to face to consequences of your actions by describing how Laura suffers after eating the fruit as she becomes physically ill and also experiences physiological consequences.


 Furthermore, after the discussion in class I discovered that there is an erotic side to the poem and that it does come across strongly as you analyse deeper into the poem. When Laura sells her "golden locks" this may suggest that she is selling her virginity and the fact that she cuts off a lock of her "precious" golden hair could be a representation of the cutting of her chastity belt which is very erotic. Moreover, when the goblins are attacking Lizzie you could argue that they are sexually abusing her as the goblins "held her hands and squeezed the fruit" - this could show them squeezing the virginity and innocence out of her.


Overall, I found that feminism was an interpretation that I believe it is the strongest of the five we discussed. The idea of women overruling men and appearing as good and beautiful in comparison to the grotesque appearance and aggressive manner of the goblins makes the reader believe that feminism is an argument that could be put forward when discussing what certain details of the poem symbolise and represent, such as the goblins. The goblins could represent Rossetti’s opinion of all men and because they act brutally towards the two sisters, who are the only women mentioned in the poem therefore they represent all women, shows that Rossetti has a negative view over how men acted towards women during the period of time when the poem was written. Furthermore, due to the fact Lizzie is the feminine hero in the poem as she saves her sisters life and in some ways sacrifices her own innocence and virginity in order to heal her sister, this makes us believe that Rossetti opinions of women over men are much more positive and good and she thinks of them as heroic, innocent and proper. Also when the goblins stamp upon Lizzie’s "tender" feet this shows abuse and, perhaps, sexual abuse which links into the erotic interpretation.

Marxist

One interpretation in the "Goblin Market" is Marxism and in my previous lesson I got given the task finding out how this interpretation is shown in the poem. The poem could link to the economic state of time when the poem was written in many ways which shows the reader the importance of trade and market stalls and the need for Marxism in that period of time.

The goblin men could symbolise and represent many things, but we concluded that they could represent businessmen or con artists due to their sly attitude which is shown when it says "signalling each other, brother with sly brother". Businessmen and, especially, con artists are known to act slyly towards people and their sales techniques and ways of persuading and tempting anyone who takes interest in what they are selling is similar to how the goblins tempt Laura into eating their fruit. The fact that she eats the fruit shows that the flaunting of their fruit and repetitive use of persuasive words such as "look" and "come buy" is very effective, therefore the goblins obviously have experience and efficient ways in selling the fruit so the argument that they could represent skilled businessmen is, in my opinion, a strong one.

Furthermore, the goblins know that once Laura tries the fruit she will become hooked onto the "sweet", "strong" and "clear" taste and will desire to eat more of it. This is why they are desperately trying to sell the fruit as once she has had a taster of the substances then they will have succeeded in making another person addicted to what they are selling so they will then want to come back and buy more. If the goblins represent businessmen then the selling of the fruit represents part of their business, therefore her addiction will make their business more sustainable. However, when Laura goes back to buy more of the fruit the goblins have disappeared which tells us that once they have got what they want they depart from the area. This could mean that the goblin men in fact represent con artists who are crafty people that attempt to sell something that is deceptive, such as the fruit that makes you ill and age prematurely once you have eaten it, and once they have sold their product they leave so that they cannot get caught. The goblins therefore have bad intentions and their misleading appearance and product causes problems that they evidently indented to do which means they are creatures, or in other words monsters, that cannot be trusted.

Moreover, when Laura sells her "golden curl" to the goblins this links in to the idea of Marxism as the fact that the lock of hair is described as "golden" makes us believe that it is seen as valuable to the goblins. Due to this we might start to think that she is selling something more than just a golden curl and that perhaps she is selling her innocence or part of herself. However, the curl could mean nothing to the goblins and they might actually intend to sell at any cost as they know the fruit is very addictive and that she will return to buy more.

Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety poems, including romantic and children's poems, but she is best known for her extremely long poem known as "Goblin Market". She is the youngest of four children and she was born on the 5 December 1830. Much of Rossetti's poetry was inspired by her religion as she came from a very religious background and was brought up as an devout Anglo-Catholic. Her love of God is passionately expressed is some of her poems and her writing is known to be sad, but she can also express the ligher side of life.

Some people consider the "Goblin Market" to be her best work. This poem has been seen as an allegory, in which the fruits offered by the goblins stand for the pleasures of the world, though according to Christina's brother William she denied that it was anything more than 'a fairy story'.

Christina Rossetti's family was very important to her. Although she loved two different men, and it is clear from her poetry that she could express feelings of love and the heartbreak of losing love, she never married or broke away from home.


Christiana died in 29 December 1894 from cancer at the age of 85.

Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti

After reading the never ending poem called "Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti, i had mixed first impressions. I thought the poem was very unusual and weird, especially the start and ending, but i also thought that once i discover the meaning behind all the small, strange details in the poem and study its poetic devices i will start to understand and realise its effectiveness.

In my previous English lesson we looked at the first several stanzas and concluded what some of the details really signify. I really enjoyed the lesson as it became clear to me what the start of the poem is trying to suggest and as we began to annotate my interest grew in the implications of the poem. After reading the first stanza, which includes a list of hundreds of fruits, i realised it was trying to suggest ideas of gluttony and sexual temptation. The words "come buy" are repeated which shows that the goblins are trying to tempt the maids, women that represent innocence and youth, to buy their fruits. Also, the words "unpecked" and "ripe" suggest virginity therefore the idea of sexual temptation is formed in the readers mind, but this did not come clear to me at first! Additionally, the reader may think that Rossetti is attempting to interoperate a theme of religion. In the bible, God tells Adam and Eve not to touch the tree that gives knowledge of good and evil as the day you eat the fruit, you will die. They however give into temptation after the persuasion of a serpent and are punished by God. This therefore shows that the Goblin men could represent the serpent as they persuade Laura into eating their fruits which leads to consequences.

Furthermore, as you read deeper into the poem you are given a description of the globins appearance. Before the description is given, Rossetti makes the reader believe that the goblins are nice, pleasant creatures as they sounded "kind and full of loves" so when we discover that they "crawled like a snail" and had "cat's" faces, this plants a grotesque and disturbing image in the readers mind. In addition, when i read the part where Laura gives in to the goblins temptation and she "sucked" the fruit that are "sweeter than honey from the rock", "stronger than man-rejoicing wine" and "clearer than water flowed that juice" i started to consider the idea of the fruit and the goblins being very similar by the way they mislead people. The goblins sound nice but they are unappealing to the eye which suggests that they are not to be trusted and we in actual fact find out that they are deceptive creatures later on in the poem. This is comparable to the fruits and their supernatural, addictive taste because during the end of the poem it reveals that the fruit has negatively affected Laura's youth and health, therefore the fruit is misleading as well as the goblins.

I am really looking forward to looking at what certain details symbolise and represent and after my last English lesson I am keen to read further into the poem whilst picking out the unobvious symbolisms, devices and meanings behind words and phrases that most readers, like me, tend to not realise.

A destination of a novel

In class we were asked to write about how there is a destination to every novel, in other words how every novel leads to somethings whether is be death or love, and how the author who wrote "Pride and Prejudice" puts across where the narrative is heading to the reader at the very start of the book. I'm not too sure what to write or where to start, but here is what i believe is right, even though it probably isnt.

Every novel has a destination and this may be clearly shown at the very start of the narrative by what the first chapter entails the way it is structured. 

The destination of the novel "Pride and Prejudice" becomes clear to the reader in the first chapter. After reading the first sentence "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (which is a famous theory of great importance) an idea including marriage and wealth instantly becomes intriguing as it is the opening sentence.

Futhermore, the first sentence also has its own paragraph which helps the reader understand its importance and it also allows the theory to be more memorable, therefore the reader may think back to the begining of the narrative and realise its destination if they didn't grasp where the book is heading after reading the first chapter.

The conversation throughout the first chapter between Mr and Mrs Bennet is highly important, more so where they are and who they are because the fact that focus is not on the characters and the setting but on a conversation about marriage helps show that destination involves marriage, making the first sentence and what follows after it within the chapter very significant.

However, it is only until the end of the chapter when attention is brought onto who is discussing the topic of marriage as a brief description about the two characters is given. This adds emphasis to the conversation and allows the readers concentation to be directly on what they are saying. It also shows that what they discussing should be taken into consideration as they put forward ideas that are key to the destination which helps clarify it.

Finally, the last sentence of the chapter mentions that "The buisness of her life was to get her daughters married.." which is a large clue as to where the book will lead the reader and it is also a key quote to remember whilst reading the narrative. This is because it states that Mrs Bennets aim in life is to marry off her daugters which shows how important marriage is to one of the first characters to be introduced, therefore implicating that the author will lean more towards marriage as the reader gets deaper into the story.

"Mr Francis entered the room. There was a piece of paper on the floor"

The writer has put the piece of paper on the floor for a reason; therefore it must have significance. It may be there to create tension or it could link to something that has already occurred, or perhaps the writer has chosen to write about the detail to create a messy atmosphere.

The piece of paper could be on the floor of a classroom and it is there to help show that a teacher has lost control of their class as the pupils are starting to throw paper across the room. The paper could represent something, for example a crumpled relationship as Mr Francis discovers an old lover is in the room with him. Or maybe, the paper could contain a list of names that he has been searching for, but someone had not wanted him to find the list as it has been littered on the floor. 

Something could be printed, written or hidden inside the paper that is of great importance to Mr Francis as the writer has brought attention to the detail. Although it is seen as litter and Mr Francis will most likely think nothing of it, there could be something within the paper that is valuable and he does not realise this.

However, the paper could just be there to signify that the room is messy or the writer has put it there for him not to pick up to show that he does not care about mess and litter. It may even be there to distract the reader from what has previously happened. Whatever the reason is behind why there is a piece of paper on the floor, whether it is to help create a scene or to build upon the tension, the paper has a significance as does every other detail the writer has brought attention to.

But all of this is speculation as at the end of the lesson i picked it up and put in my bag and i know what it was. I hope you remember your frozen peas and loaf of bread for tonight.