'An apple gathering' (FINAL) Flashcards
(20 cards)
structure
The regularity of the four lines in each stanza = symbolize that she will never be able to escape from her suffering.
structure is in quatrains
written?
1857, just started working at highgate
rhyme scheme
regular (ridgedness of society)
context
This poem is written at a time when Rossetti has lost her first love, James Collinson, after his fitting between Catholicism and Anglicanism left them with irreconcilable differences.
SIGNIFICANCE OF APPLES
The significance of the apples comes from the Garden of Eden, where the forbidden fruit was consumed.
‘Plucked pink blossoms’
sexual appeal, premature loss of innoncxe
allietration refers to obtrusive nature and fateful decision
‘And worn them all that evening in my hair’
-IDEA OF SEEKING ATTRACTION VIA TEMPTATION
THEN IN DUE SEASON
sexual prime (appropriate time) , WARNING THAT IF THEY PICK BLOSSOMS TOO EARLY THERE WILL BE NONE LATER
premature indulgence= reprecusssions
MY NEIGHBOURS MOCKED ME whilst theu saw me pass so empty handed back
LINK TO ALIENATION, fallen women - outcast due to impurity
empty handed- lack of fertility?
‘Lilian and lilias’
names derived from lillies representing purity-
- similarity of names suggest homogeneity (following societal expectations of women as majority do- REWARDED WITH FULL BASKET FOR PATIENCE
their mothers home was near
IDEA THAT THOSE GIRLS WILL TAKE THAT MATERNAL RILE BUT SPEAKER WON’T, ALSO REFERS TO THE SECURITY THAT CHASTITY PROVIDES IN SOCIETY
also refers to cyclical role of women
‘plump gertrude passed me with her basket full’
PLUMP- alludes to curves and fertility/ abundance - shows sexual readyness
‘a stronger hand’
DUE TO PURITY THERE IS MASCULINE POWER PROTECTING AND GUIDING HER- suggests men are in control of these ideals
‘Ah willie willie’
direct referal- shows she was impacted by their sexual relation but he wasnt
shpws unfair patriarchal values
‘was my love less worth than apples with their green LEAVES piled above’
connotes traditional marriage values of purity- unworthy of commitment due to premature blossoms
‘so once it was with me you stooped to talk’
REMINISCENT AND LONGONG OF PAST RELATIONS
stooped- bitterness, suggests her inferiority to him class of gender wise- ostracised as a fallen woman (perhaps a prostitute)
‘WE SHALL NOT WALK AGAIN’
emphasises anger and finality of her fate
LET ME NEIGHBOURS PASS ME
deflation
‘the night grew chill’
unsafety and lack of security in her fate- reference to rapid nature that her future fel
chill- change of season and weather emphasises end of romance and longevity/ permenance of rejecttion from society due to passing of time
‘WHILE THE DEWS FELL FAST I LOITERED STILL’
unsatisfactory ending shows permenance of her fate
