“The Poor Ghost” by Christina Rossetti, Book Review Example

When reading Christina Rossetti’s “The Poor Ghost” for the first time, it becomes clear that the author in her poem puts an emotional emphasis on the theme of fading love between the two people in the circumstances when one of them has died. In my opinion, it is only after the second or even third reading that the reader acknowledges that the poem itself is the conversation between a living partner and a ghost of the dead one. And the question, which is being raised in the lines of the conversation, is whether death brings an end to all previously expressed feelings and emotions, leaving only sorrow and tears behind it.

This poetic conversation, as one can call it, starts with the lines of the living partner wondering of where the ghost comes from. The dead person is not being directly called a ghost. It is the description and the vision of the snow-white colors and hollow voices created by the author that assure us of the ghostly nature of the person, whom the above question is being addressed to. To my mind, there is also a hint from the author that the dead partner is probably a female because of the knee-length hair mentioned in the description. Moreover, a way in which she as a ghost is being addressed brings us to a conclusion that her living partner hasn’t forgotten her yet and has certain feelings left that explain his greeting of hers as of a dear friend.

The poem continues on with the ghost’s response to her partner’s question. She describes the place she comes back to him from as the other world, adding a metaphorical note about her locks being uncurled by the dew there, which can be understood as the author’s intention to show how miserable and unpleasant death is. The ghost also mentions the new knowledge gained after death and makes a claim that her beloved one will acquire it soon as well, probably meaning that he will die soon just like she did.

But from the partner’s response it becomes evident that he is not ready to die yet and almost begs her to give him more time in this world to enjoy all the comfort and pleasure he gets from his life.

At this point in the poem the author starts revealing her main assumptions on the fading love theme through the feelings and doubts expressed by the female ghost. The question that is being raised here by the dead partner is of whether death has changed her so much that her beloved one now chooses further live without her over death and reunion with her. At this point there is also another hint from the author about the sexes of the partners: when talking about the fright the ghost’s partner experiences now for her, she addresses the partner’s behavior as his sight, which, in the end, proves that our previous suggestion of the partners’ sexes is valid and true.

Through the female side in the poem the author expresses one of the two common assumptions that exist in the society on the question of love after death. The suggestion presented at this part of the poem is that it takes a lot of time and mental strength to recover from the loss of your beloved one. But people, who support this idea, believe in the reunion of souls in the after-live, which, in a sense, helps them to live through all the hardships and sorrow. As far as I can judge, that is what the ghost partner in the poem is hoping for – the reunion afterwards. But, unfortunately to her, the response of her living partner puts an end to these hopes, while on the other hand, helps the author to represent the opposite side of the argument on love after death. The male partner argues that his feelings have been true and sincere but they can be only viewed in the scope of living beings. From his standpoint the truth is that – just as death takes away life, so does it to love. The partner intends to say that while his female partner was alive and even when she was sick, he has been taking care of her. But in the current circumstances, he is helpless and is not able to support something that is gone for ever from him. He also makes a statement in his part of the conversation that he will still love his dead partner, but it is evident to the reader that these love feelings will be quite different from the ones he felt while she has been alive. To my mind, this so-called love means nothing more than memories that will accompany the male partner every time he visits her grave. The author does not use such direct words in the lines of the poem but expresses the idea of a grave with a help of the metaphor which describes the ghost’s new bed that she will return in to and the flowers that her male partner has already planted there. So, one can see that the idea involved by the author in the male partner’s perception of the situation is the one stating that people have to move on with their lives, no matter how harsh and painful the loss of the beloved one can be. One should not forget the value of his/her own life and have the right to lead and enjoy it to its greatest extent.

The poem ends up with the female verses. She makes a couple of conclusions that come from the whole conversation and makes her own judgments in the end. First of all, the female ghost makes an emphasis on the lesson she has learnt after death in this particular situation– there is no hope for love left. Consequently, she makes a promise never to come back to this world again and disturb her ex-partner, who has his new life now.

The loneliness of the ghost after her partner’s rejection of her love is being underlined by the author with a help of a metaphor again. This time the author draws a more detailed picture of the ghost’s bed in the eyes of the readers – a deep bed with leaded roof and no one around to show support and love. Furthermore, the ghost makes a claim that if their two lives are separate and different now, she does not want to hear her partner’s sorrow and tears at her grave. She insists that he lives her alone, while she is waiting for the so-called Judgment Day. In my opinion, this claim can not only be viewed as the ghost’s final separation from her partner’s world , but also as another author’s hint, which allows us to take even a deeper look in the described situation and personality traits of the characters. As far as I know, in the Bible the Judgment Day is the time when the soul is being told of whether it deserves to live in heaven or burn in hell for the rest of the time. The Judgment Day takes place 40 days after the actual death of the person, which helps the readers to come up with the first conclusion so far – it is not that long, probably a month period, that the female has died. The other conclusion, to my mind, that can be drawn here is that the female has been a religious person, which also means faithful. And, in my opinion, this explains her intention to be with her beloved one even after her death.

Having taken a precise look at the context of the poem and ideas put forward by the author in her work, I find it important to say that the writing style and literary language and methods used by Christina Rossetti in this poem only add up to the overall impression, help to clarify readers’ perception and create a unique atmosphere, conceived by the author. As the poem is called “The Poor Ghost”, the impression it leaves on the readers is ghostly light and see-through, regardless of the significance and importance of the raised issues. Christina Rossetti manages to build up an overall ghostly concept of the poem with a handful of literary metaphors and epithets which, in their own way, help to avoid such harshly perceived words as death, grave and sorrow. The significance of the moment in the poem is not being forced by already pumping words, which enables the readers to see through and understand the essence of it without having to think it over and over again. The lines of the poem are flouting like a ghost while still clearly bringing onto the readers the main ideas and intentions expressed by the author.

As far as I can judge, the name of the poem “The Poor Ghost” perfectly suits its context. In my opinion, the concept of the poorness implies two ideas, neither of which is connected to financial well-being. First of all, the ghost is being described as a poor one because of the fact that her after-death intentions are being rejected by her beloved one. She has hoped to keep her love even being dead, but her dream is being broken and will never now come true. The reader feels sympathetic with this poor creature, who now has not only to exist as a ghost, being thrown away from the only world she has known, but also to put up with the emotional damage, which, in this case, is more painful than all of the other problems combined. On the other hand, the ghost can be viewed as poor in a way that she is being left all alone now. When she was alive, she had her beloved one. After dieing she has been living with a hope of reuniting with him. But now, being rejected and all alone, she is probably the poorest creature out there.

From my perceptual viewpoint I find this poem by Christina Rossetti interesting and worth reading. Though it does not bring up major human issues or break-through ideas, it still has something to offer to the readers. This short tragic story shows on a hypothetical example how hard and painful it is for people to be rejected and alone. In its 9 verses it contains a handful of emotions and thoughts that most of the time need more space that that to be expressed. The author herself does not draw any conclusions or make any judgments, leaving it up to the reader to think through.

In conclusion I find it important to say that no matter what poem or story one is reading or listening to, it is always significant to look for the essence, even if it is being hidden by hundreds of unclear lines or handful of literary metaphors, comparisons and expressions. It is useful to remember that, though one may not find in them the answers to mind-boggling questions or any meaningful conclusions for oneself, they will still make one think – the effect that most of the authors are seeking from their audience.