‘Remember’ (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

‘Remember’

This revision guide to the poem ‘Remember’ by Christina Rossetti from the Edexcel International GCSE English Anthology (part 3: unit 1, section B) includes:

• Overview: a line-by-line breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Form, structure and language: an exploration of the techniques and poetic choice that Rossetti has used 

• Themes: an exploration of the themes and ideas in the poem

• Comparing poems: suggestions on which poems to compare ‘Remember’ to

Overview

To answer an essay question on a poem, you must understand what it is about. The overview section includes:

• A summary of the poem 

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Rossetti’s intention and message

A summary of the poem ‘Remember’ 

Written by Christina Rossetti at the age of 19 in 1849, ‘Remember’ is a sonnet in which the speaker is preparing a lover for their death, with instructions about how they wish to be remembered after death. The poem deals with death, love and memory after loss and is unusual as it is written from the perspective of a speaker who is dying. The speaker is assumed to be female. 

‘Remember’ analysis

Lines 1–4

Translation

• The speaker begins the sonnet by asking her lover to remember her after she has died

Rossetti’s intention

• The poem starts with the speaker’s sorrowful plea to be remembered after she dies:

  • Death is described using a euphemistic and poetic phrase “gone away” to imply that she is taking a journey

• The speaker uses anadiplosis by repeating the words “gone away” at the start of the second sentence:

  • The repetition of “gone” emphasises their separation and the choice of the word “far” increases the sense of distance between them 

• A metaphor, “the silent land”, represents the journey of death 

• The poem is an example of a poetic apostrophe as it directly addresses someone who is not responding:

  • The phrase “no more hold me by the hand” suggests their intimacy and their  close physical connection or proximity to each other, contrasting with the anticipated distance between them after death 

• The alliteration in “hold me by the hand” connects the words, like hands

• There is a tender poignancy and sadness that reminds the reader of the speaker’s imminent death and her desire to cling to life: “half turn to go yet turning stay”

• The rhyme scheme of this quatrain is typical of a Petrarchan sonnet with a rhyme scheme of ABBA:

  • The disconnect between the A rhymes could reflect the distance the speaker and her beloved will experience once she has died

Lines 5–8

Translation

• The speaker urges her beloved to remember her even though they can no longer plan their life together

Rossetti’s intention

• In lines five and six, the speaker shifts their focus to what will be missing in the future: 

  • The phrase “day by day” reminds us of her imminent death 

• The repetition of the words “you” and “me” creates both an intimacy and a sense of distance between the speaker and her beloved:

  • He will be moving forward, with a future, but she will not

• The speaker then repeats the insistent plea to “remember me” to direct her lover:  

  • Memories, rather than “prayer” or “counsel” will provide solace when she has died and journeyed to the “silent land”

• This quatrain follows the same rhyme scheme as the previous quatrain (ABBA):

  • This reflects the insistent nature of the message to remember her

Lines 9–12

Translation

• The speaker reassures her beloved that he should not be upset if he forgets her for a while

Rossetti’s intention

• The sonnet reaches the volta in these lines as the speaker changes focus slightly and introduces a new idea with words associated with time:

  • The turning point is evident with the word “yet” which reflects how the speaker’s message changes slightly from the first octave of the poem

  • The speaker raises the possibility that her lover may forget her “for a while” but a trace or “vestige” will still be present

Lines 13–14

Translation

• The speaker reveals a deep love and tenderness for her beloved, hoping for future happiness rather than sadness in grief

Rossetti’s intention

• The word “remember” is repeated for the final time at the end of the poem but without the same strength or intensity:

  • It is almost as if the speaker is beginning to fade away 

  • It also reflects the speaker’s realisation that she cannot force her lover to remember her with the same intensity as she did at the beginning of the poem

• The rhyme scheme for the final six lines, or sestet, of the poem changes and breaks away from the tight and predictable rhyme scheme present in the first octave (eight lines) of the poem:

  • The rhyme scheme is CDDECE for the sestet or final six lines of the poem

  • This unorganised, lower rhyme scheme could reflect the speaker’s inner turmoil as they wrestle with (or accept) the idea of being forgotten after death

Form, structure and language 

Consider how Rossetti uses form, structure and language to present her ideas in ‘Remember’ and why she has made these choices. 

You will gain more marks in the exam if you focus on the poet’s themes than on individual poetic techniques. Therefore, the analysis in the following sections is arranged by theme, and examines the intentions behind the poet’s decisions. 

Form

This type of poem is called a Petrarchan sonnet and it contains 14 lines. As the poem is a sonnet, it uses iambic pentameter and a traditional rhyme scheme for a Petrarchan sonnet.

Structure

As the poem is a sonnet, the first eight lines are called an octave in which the speaker’s thoughts and questions are presented. This is followed by a sestet, which begins with a volta, connected to the octave.

Language

Christina Rossetti uses a range of language techniques to emphasise the speaker’s inner thoughts and feelings in ‘Remember’.

Themes

Understanding the two central themes and the context of this poem will help you to write an informed, personal response in the exam. Here is a summary:  

Memory, death and grief

• Christina Rossetti wrote ‘Remember’ at the young age of 19 in 1849 but it was published in 1862:

  • The poem fits into a Victorian tradition of poems of mourning, but is celebrated  for its intimacy and for the tenderness of tone and the simplicity of style  

  • The poem is unusually written from the perspective of a speaker who is dying 

• The pronouns “me” and “I” have both been used in every line of the poem:

  • This reflects the speaker’s strong desire to be heard 

• The repetition of the word “remember” conveys the speaker’s strong desire to be remembered and a part of her beloved’s life, even when she has died:

  • However, the emphasis and intensity of the word “remember” decreases as the poem goes progresses 

• The poet uses caesura in the poem for impact: 

  • The semicolon after “only remember me;” separates and isolates the statement and strengthens the speaker’s desperate desire to be remembered 

  • The caesura after “do not grieve:” has a similar effect and adds impact and gravitas to the message 

• The rhyme scheme of the final six lines of the poem is different to the tight rhyme scheme in the octave:

  • The rhyme scheme of CDDECE could reflect the speaker’s own grief 

Love and life

• An apostrophe is used in ‘Remember’ and the reader can only assume that the individual listening to this sonnet is her loved one

• The speaker describes her love and connection with her beloved through the intimate tone, frequent use of pronoun (“you” and “me”) and sensory references:

  • The speaker uses touch when stating that their loved one will no longer be able to hold her “by the hand”

• After the volta in the poem, the speaker declares that they accept that their loved one may end up forgetting them “for a while”:

  • This demonstrates that the speaker’s love for her partner is greater than her desire to be continually remembered

• The iambic pentameter of the sonnet contains ten syllables, which contain five unstressed syllables and five stressed syllables:

  • The use of iambic pentameter mimics the sound of a beating heart which one cannot only associate with life but also with the theme of love

Comparing poems 

In your exam, you will be required to compare two poems from the anthology. 

You must be able to explore links and connections between texts, which includes looking at the poets’ use of language, form and structure. In ‘Remember’, Rossetti’s main ideas are centred around love, memory and grief, so the following comparisons would be a good starting point:

• ‘Remember’ and ‘Sonnet 116’

• ‘Remember’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• Comparison summary 

• Similarities and differences between the ideas presented in each poem

• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

‘Remember’ and ‘Sonnet 116’

Comparison summary:

In Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Remember’, the speaker is dying and fears that her loved one will not remember her after she dies. However, in ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare presents love as a force that can withstand the test of time and can overcome all barriers as it does not age or wither away. 

Similarities:

Differences:

‘Remember’ and ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’

Comparison summary:

Both poems deal with the inevitability of death. However, ‘Remember’ is written from the perspective of someone who is dying and speaking to their loved one before they die, whereas, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ is written from the perspective of someone who is witnessing a loved one dying.

Similarities:

Differences: