When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet: And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the shadows, I shall not feel the rain; I shall not hear the nightingale Sing on as if in pain: And dreaming through the twilight That doth not rise nor set, Haply I may remember, And haply I may forget.
I lock my door upon myself, And bar them out; but who shall wall Self from myself, most loathed of all?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote explores the struggle of self-exile and internal conflict, suggesting that one can be their own worst enemy.
In this quote, Christina Rossetti reflects on the profound sense of isolation and self-alienation. Although one can physically shut out the world, the inner turmoil and loathing one feels towards oneself can create a prison that is inescapable. It speaks to the complexity of human nature and the challenges of self-acceptance, emphasizing how isolating oneself may lead to confronting an even greater adversary: oneself.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a mental health seminar, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of addressing internal struggles rather than just external circumstances.
More from Christina Rossetti
All quotes βWe must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed Their hungry thirsty roots?
To her whose heart is my heart's quiet home,_x000D_ _x000D_ To my first Love, my Mother, on whose knee_x000D_ _x000D_ I learnt love-lore that is not troublesome.
Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live My very life again though cold in death; Come back to me in dreams, that I may give Pulse for pulse, breath for breath: Speak low, lean low, As long ago, my love, how long ago
Lie still, lie still, my breaking heart; My silent heart, lie still and break: Life, and the world, and mine own self, are changed For a dream's sake.
When I am dead, my dearest,_x000D_ _x000D_ Sing no sad songs for me
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