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Jeanne Dininni
Shilpa KarhikChristina Rossetti
May 24th 2006 07:14
UPHILL
by Christina Rossetti
Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
Christina Georgietta Rossetti was a devoted Catholic, as you might be able to garner from this poem. She published her writing, mostly poetry and devotional writing, throughout her life. She was pretty much unrecognised until the 1970s, when feminist scholars began to analyse her work and bring it into the public eye again.
Her most famous work, Goblin Market, seems at odds with her personality, as it is filled with ambiguities and apparent sexual innuendo and incestuous behaviour between two sisters. She always insisted it was nothing more than a fairytale for children, though perhaps that was only to ensure that it was allowed to be circulated. It's far too long a poem to include here, but here is a link to it--you be the judge of her intent:
Goblin Market
by Christina Rossetti
Does the road wind uphill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
But is there for the night a resting-place?
A roof for when the slow, dark hours begin.
May not the darkness hide it from my face?
You cannot miss that inn.
Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?
Those who have gone before.
Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?
They will not keep you standing at that door.
Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?
Of labour you shall find the sum.
Will there be beds for me and all who seek?
Yea, beds for all who come.
Christina Georgietta Rossetti was a devoted Catholic, as you might be able to garner from this poem. She published her writing, mostly poetry and devotional writing, throughout her life. She was pretty much unrecognised until the 1970s, when feminist scholars began to analyse her work and bring it into the public eye again.
Her most famous work, Goblin Market, seems at odds with her personality, as it is filled with ambiguities and apparent sexual innuendo and incestuous behaviour between two sisters. She always insisted it was nothing more than a fairytale for children, though perhaps that was only to ensure that it was allowed to be circulated. It's far too long a poem to include here, but here is a link to it--you be the judge of her intent:
Goblin Market
Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)
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