Dante+Gabriel+Rossetti's+Ballads+and+Sonnets

=Dante Gabriel Rossetti's "Ballads and Sonnets" (1881)=

Author: Dante Gabriel Rossetti Title: Ballads and Sonnets Place of Publication: London Date: 1881

//Ballads and Sonnets// is a first edition bound in burgundy cloth with no design on the cover and or on the spine (see below). It was published in London by Ellis and White. The dedication reads: “To Theodore Watts, The friend whom my verse won for me, these few more pages are affectionately inscribed.” On that same page is a book trace left by someone who may have gifted the book. Handwritten are the words, “Jessie M. Meade King, Nov. 13th, 1881, from Richard.”



Dante Gabriel Rossetti published //Ballads and Sonnets// in 1881 at the age of 54 and passed away the year after. This was the last book published while he was living. The volume is a continuation of his previous book of poetry called which can be found in the Rossetti Archive [|here]. This collection of poetry was originally buried with his wife; however, years after her death he exhumed her grave to recover them and went on to publish them in 1870. Both books are a necessary read to understand the changes and additions to his collection of sonnets called “The House of Life.”

This collection, also known as the “Sequence of Sonnets,” is his largest collection of poems and most celebrated work. The original 16 sonnets centred on Elizabeth Siddal. These sonnets were initially published in the //Fortnightly Review// in March 1869 (" The House of Life"). They became the foundation of a larger sequence of sonnets titled “The House of Life” published in // Poems // in 1870 and again in // Ballads and Sonnets // in 1881.

The book explores desire, love, and loss. The collection can be read as a biographical exploration of the two most important relationships in Rossetti’s life: his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, and later on his mistress, Jane Morris ("Ballads and Sonnets"). He married Elizabeth Siddal in 1860 but lost her to drug overdose only two years later. As a painter and a poet Elizabeth functioned as a muse for his greatest works. Long after she passed away, he began an affair with Jane Morris who also modeled for his paintings. The book is divided into four parts. The first section consists of three ballads. This portion was not a part of Rossetti’s original plan. Initially, he wanted to augment his older poetry and release them again. Instead, he realized he had enough content for two publications: Ballads and Sonnets and a new edition of //Poems// ("Ballads and Sonnets").

The second section is the sonnet-sequence, “House of Life.” Part I is entitled “Youth and Change,” which consists of provocative poems about lust and love. Many of these sonnets were from his previous book or written in the early 1870’s to be gifted to Jane Morris during their courtship ("Introductory Sonnet"). Part II, “Fate and Change” are darker poems that deal with death and grief written in 1874 and subsequent years ("The House of Life"). Introducing this part of the book is a sonnet dedicated to the form of the sonnet. He describes poetry as a moment captured in time and a way to preserve one’s soul for eternity.

A Sonnet
A Sonnet is a moment's monument,-- Memorial from the Soul's eternity To one dead deathless hour. Look that it be, Whether for lustral rite or dire portent, Of its own arduous fulness reverent: Carve it in ivory or in ebony, As Day or Night may rule; and let Time see Its flowering crest impearled and orient.

A Sonnet is a coin: its face reveals The soul,--its converse, to what Power 'tis due:-- Whether for tribute to the august appeals Of Life, or dower in Love's high retinue, It serve, or, 'mid the dark wharf's cavernous breath, In Charon's palm it pay the toll to Death. (Rossetti, 161)

The next section, “Lyrics,” comes from Rossetti’s original work called “Songs and Sonnets towards a work to be called ‘The House of Life'” (Lewis). The lyrical poems reflect Rossetti’s personal experience with heartbreak. The final segment of his book contains an additional set of sonnets that includes another sequence called “Five English Poets,” which reconsiders the works of Chatterton, Blake, Coleridge, Keats, and Shelley.

Rossetti was part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of seven artists who banded together to celebrate the techniques of medieval Italian art. The brotherhood had a significant influence on Rossetti as he created much of his poetry in tandem with his paintings. The Pre-Raphaelites believed art to be transcendent, a type of spiritual expression of the natural world. Like much of Rossetti’s work, //Ballads and Sonnets// bordered on blasphemy, exploring the discovery of the spiritual in the physical body or the desire for flesh. Author, Isobel Armstrong states, “The flagrant erotics of ‘Nuptial Sleep’ take the poetics of touch to extremity” which caused his contemporaries to regard him “with shock and disgust” (Armstrong, 464).

Some of Rossetti’s previous work had been lauded as a “fleshly school of poetry” by critics like Buchanan, who disagreed with parading private, sensual moments around in public (Armstrong, 464). Buchanan believed Rossetti contradicted himself by exhibiting modesty when deliberating the release of his poetry but showed no shame when publishing overtly sexual content (Buchanan). In fact, upon the advice of Theodore Watts-Dunton, the friend and respected literary critic he dedicated this book to, Rossetti decided to remove “Nuptial Sleep” from the 1881 edition of // Ballads and Sonnets // (Hammond, 125). The below image depicts Rossetti and Watts editing the proofs of // Ballads and S //// onnets. //

 

Nuptial Sleep
At length their long kiss severed, with sweet smart: And as the last slow sudden drops are shed From sparkling eaves when all the storm has fled, So singly flagged the pulses of each heart. Their bosoms sundered, with the opening start Of married flowers to either side outspread From the knit stem; yet still their mouths, burnt red, Fawned on each other where they lay apart.

Sleep sank them lower than the tide of dreams, And their dreams watched them sink, and slid away. Slowly their souls swam up again, through gleams Of watered light and dull drowned waifs of day; Till from some wonder of new woods and streams He woke, and wondered more: for there she lay.

SB.Engl386.UVic.Spring2016 Call number: PR5244 B2


 * References: **

Armstrong, Isobel. "The Sonnet." //Victorian Poetry// 48.4 (2010): 461-73. //West Virginia University Press//. Web. 12 Feb. 2016.

"Ballads and Sonnets.” //The Rossetti Archive//. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. .

"Ballads and Sonnets (1881), Proofs.” //The Rossetti Archive//. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. .

Buchanan, Robert. "The Fleshly School of Poetry: Mr. D. G. Rossetti." //The Victorian Web: Literature, History and Culture in the Age of Victoria//. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Hammond, Mary. //Reading, Publishing and the Formation of Literary Taste in England, 1880-1914//. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2006. Print.

"Introductory Sonnet ("A Sonnet Is a Moment's Monument")." //The Rossetti Archive//. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. .

Lewis, “The Making of Rossetti's Ballads and Sonnets and Poems (1881)”, //Victorian Poetry// (1982) 199-216

“The House of Life. A Sonnet Sequence.” //The Rossetti Archive//. Web. 12 Feb. 2016. .

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. //Ballads and Sonnets//. London: Ellis and White, 1881. Print.

Call number: PR5244 B2  In fact, upon the advice of Theodore Watts-Dunton, the friend and respected literary critic he dedicated this book to, Rossetti decided to remove “Nuptial Sleep” from the 1881 edition of //Ballads and Sonnets. // (Armstrong, 464) <span style="background-color: #ffe7af; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 22.8571px;">Buchanan, Robert. "The Fleshly School of Poetry: Mr. D. G. Rossetti." //<span style="background-color: #ffe7af; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 22.8571px;">The Victorian Web: Literature, History and Culture in the Age of Victoria //<span style="background-color: #ffe7af; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans',sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 22.8571px;">. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.