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Tackling an unseen poem

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At GCSE you may have to write about a poem you have never seen before. The trick is to have a clear method. Here we use a famous sonnet by Christina Rossetti.

A method for any poem

1. Title and first read: what is it about? Who is speaking, and to whom?
2. Feelings: what is the mood, and does it change?
3. Language: imagery, word choices, sound.
4. Structure and form: stanzas, rhyme, line length, any turning point.
5. Message: what is the poet saying about life?

The poem

Christina Rossetti's 'Remember' is a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet: an octave of 8 lines and a sestet of 6. The speaker addresses someone they love.

The turn

In the first eight lines the speaker asks to be remembered after death.
Line 9 begins 'Yet if you should forget me for a while', and the mood turns: this is the volta.
The ending is generous: the speaker would rather the loved one forgot and was happy.
Worked example

Explain the change of feeling across the poem.

  1. Octave: the speaker asks to be remembered.
  2. Volta at line 9 ('Yet'): she accepts she may be forgotten.
  3. Ending: she prefers the loved one to 'forget and smile' than 'remember and be sad'.

Answer: The speaker moves from asking to be remembered to unselfishly wanting the loved one to be happy, even if that means being forgotten.

Key idea

Use a method: subject and speaker, feelings, language, structure and form, message. In 'Remember', a Petrarchan sonnet, the volta at line 9 turns a plea to be remembered into a wish for the loved one's happiness.

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

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