"They desire a better country"

Question 1

TDABC: SF of light & luminescence (& repetition of gold) to evoke the speaker’s awe for God/Heaven
1. ‘d o a g g h’
2. ‘G c w r, l o u’
3. ‘t g k t o t g d/O t g h’

Answer 1

1. ‘dimness of a glory glimmers here’ diminutive, rather ‘dampened’ vibrancy of light illustrates the promise of ‘glory’ which, if properly catered for and cultivated, has the potential to expand & become all-consuming. The juxtaposing ideas of ‘dimness’ with the vibrancy of ‘glimmers’ conjures a sense of a positive yet vague future, the potential for something amazing that lies on the horizon.
2. ‘golden city walls rise., looming on us’: overwhelming opulence of the city of God (Heaven) reflects the speaker’s own reverence of God as this ‘better country’ is portrayed as something innately divine and hugely expensive, something to be treasured for eternity. Visual domination of the vast ‘city walls rise…looming’ suggests a fascination with God & religion which causes both to become the speaker’s own -personal priorities, their chief desire in life. Perhaps Rossetti calls for society to replace false idols of wealth etc with the true & pure nature of God as a spiritual guide.
3. ‘the golden key to ope the golden door/Of golden home..’ Repetition of ‘golden’ merely reinforces the personal wealth and value that the speaker themselves has placed upon God and religion as divine things that require ultimate worship as ‘golden’ imbues them with a treasure-like status.

Question 2

TDABC: The arduous/prolonged nature of earthly living & the journey to a ‘better country
1.’d d l o i s’
2. ‘W d & n I c i m h’
3. ‘F l t j i t m n s’

Answer 2

1. ‘dry desert lengthens out its sand’:
   creates a rather bleak image of earth as an entirely barren and arid land that is wholly unable to sustain the speaker & the rest of the earthly population. The continuous image of ‘lengthens out its sand’ suggests a growing extension of earthly life, revealing the speaker’s distaste for this ‘journey’ which seems to grow ever longer, impeding their access to heaven.
2. ‘Whilst day & night I carry in my hand’. The daily cycle of ‘day and night’ exacerbates this rather monotonous existence as the speaker trudges through life with the sole purpose of reaching heaven, an idea that proves almost restorative as the hope of reaching heaven clearly fortifies the speaker with the strength to continue to pursue this journey. => reflective of how God & his teachings can provide fulfilment through spiritual guidance.
3. ‘For long the journey is that makes no stand’
   Rhyme with ‘carry in my hand’ emphasises the almost torturous quality of this journey to heaven or the ‘better country’, yet the speaker is till guided towards heaven via the ‘key’ => perhaps symbolic of the Bible which acts as a liturgical key to unity with God as it provides those who study it with knowledge of how to follow God’s teachings.
4. ‘thro’ veils and distance from the space remote/ A faintest far vibration of a note’: motif of spatial distance represents how the speaker, through heir life on earth, feels as though heaven is almost an unattainable space as ‘veils’ & ‘space remote’ evoke a sense of extreme physical & spatial distance alongside the sense of visual obscurity as the joy obtainable through the unifying noise of music is ‘veil[ed]’ away from the speaker.

Question 3

TDABC: A speaker who takes autonomy & responsibility for their past transgressions
1. ‘I w n i I c…’
2. O l, o d, o b’
3. ‘M f i a b/M p f w I h m t t’

Answer 3

1. Repetition of “I would not if I could” throughout. This first person declaration acts as a pledge to the persona’s self that they will not be ashamed of their past ‘sins’ but rather accept them as their flaws and strive to behave in a more moral fashion. = becomes hugely unapologetic in the course of her actions.
2. Anaphoric repetition of the ‘or’ triplet: “Or launch… or drug…or break” - reveals the speaker’s own contemplation of a variety of alternative courses of action that would not have hindered their own prospects. Yet these are negated, revealing that the speaker is entirely unwilling to renege on their past actions, they are not embarrassed or disheartened by societal perceptions of them as someone who has lost prospects as they have reached a religious epiphany: without these poor experiences & sense of failure in life, the speaker would be unable to appreciate the ‘good’ aspects of life.
3. ‘My future is a blank/My past for which I have myself to thank.’ Persona almost verges on a tone of bitterness through the self-blame of ‘my-self to thank’ which has resulted in an entirely empty, potentially unfulfilling (by society’s standards) future. Yet the rhyme of “blank” and “myself to thank” allows the persona to assume ownership and autonomy of what occurs in her life, despite some of the negative aspects the persona still feels as though they have benefitted from this experience.

Question 4

TDABC structure

Answer 4

Composed of three sonnets - normally associated with logic in Rossetti’s poetry. One for the present, one for past and one for future.