Write about the ways Rossetti tells the story in lines 1 – 54 of ‘A Royal Princess’. Focus only on A02 - form, language and structure, but don't forget about the agenda!
20 Comments
sana
1/21/2014 08:58:30 pm
Firstly Christina Rossetti’s ‘a royal princess’ centres around the repulsion of a ‘king descended’ princess who albeit ‘sits uplift and upright’ upon a ‘high ivory chair’ ,‘decked with jewels’ and encased in ‘ foreign spices’ discards her ‘lofty’ upbringing.
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A Ahluwalia
1/23/2014 08:38:26 pm
How can you develop your analysis? Think about the poet's agenda? Would this analysis be enough in the exam? What more could you add?
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Nasreen
1/22/2014 07:58:19 pm
Although one way Rossetti utilizes structure is through the contrast of the mirrors. The mirrors reflected the Princess' cycle of life which is portrayed in "All my walls are lost in mirrors". Metaphorically the mirrors represent a wall that form a boundary between the Princess' identity and artificial identity given by her status. Including the "two by two" guards surrounding her resembles the mirrors in order to convey the loneliness and how she can't escape the royal image but is desperate to.
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Anisha
1/23/2014 02:57:15 am
However one could interpret the mirrors in a different light and suggest that Rossetti has used these mirrors to portray the idea that the princess can not escape the royalty within her. This is supported by the sibilance ‘self-same solitary figure’ which reinforces her slow repetitive life suggesting that she acknowledges her potential but yet remains confined within her royalty.
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A Ahluwalia
1/23/2014 08:39:17 pm
What is the poet's message?
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A Ahluwalia
1/23/2014 08:41:17 pm
What's the poet's message?
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Iman Hussein
1/23/2014 05:17:53 am
The constant use of 'I' could suggest that the princess wants nothing to do with her current status and wants to create her own identity.At the end she states, ‘I, if I perish, perish; in the name of God I go',showing that she is willing to give in and abandon her current identity to help out those suffering and in need of help.However,the mirrors could represent how she will never be able to escape her royal image or escape,this is also supported by when she refers to a ' poor dove' which can represent peace however she is being isolated and being confined and unable to do what she really wants.Rossetti could be trying to send out the message that women are not helpless and do genuinely want to help within society but are constantly being restricted from doing so.
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A Ahluwalia
1/23/2014 08:42:40 pm
Can you elaborate on how they are restricted by providing greater links to context?
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Jaspreet
1/23/2014 05:26:13 am
My comment on the ways Rossetti tells the story in lines 1 – 54 of ‘A Royal Princess’ may be a bit long and also might lack Rossetti agenda as I was struggling with that.
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Hannah
1/23/2014 07:47:45 am
Touching on the significance on Rossetti's use of language, in the poem ' A Royal Princess', the use of setting and objects in the poem specifically the passing of the 'Ivory chair' suggest a inherited responsibility the royal princess must take on. This then is further expressed through her realization of how daunting it is when she must 'sit uplift and upright,there (she) sit alone', expressing her anxiety towards being forced into taking such high responsibilities as a Monarch, therefore the thought of her attaining such powers through hereditary rights, and having no formal support in such matters then leaves her in a emotionally unstable state. The move from chair to throne suggest not only the attainment of immense power,luxuries and incentives but also the attainment of the highest of responsibilities under God (reference to the history of British monarchs and the common view on the 'Divine Right') the thought of such responsibilities on the head of a young woman, one which feels completely isolated, reflects how women can ultimately be given everything yet still feel a deeper sadness.
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Safiya
1/23/2014 07:48:57 am
In 'A Royal Princess', the speaker describes herself as an 'eagle that must not soar.' The eagle is massive bird that must glide in order to survive; her inability to do that results in the speaker believing that life is not worth living. The speaker also discribes herself as a 'dove' which has connotations peace. Here, the speaker knows that by breaking silence she could potentially restore relations between royalty and the citizens of her kingdom. The concept of restrained birds reflect on the speakers confinement and possibly her parents inability to recognize her potential. In addition to that, Rossetti employs the theme of entrapment to emphasise the life of females and that inequality existed towards them regardless of their status.
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Sade
1/23/2014 08:09:22 am
Rossetti also uses elements of the Bible when the princess is compared to a "dove". In the Biblical story of Noah's ark, a dove was used to to show that the storm was over. " he sent forth the dove out of the ark... in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. ". This further demonstrates how the princess could potentially be the one to bring peace upon her land, however she is being restricted by her heritage.
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Sade
1/23/2014 08:27:46 am
As we are all aware, Rossetti's poems regularly incorporate Biblical references. Within the story of Noah's Ark, Noah waited an additional 7 days to release the dove "which returned not again unto him any more" as it had finally found land and peace, and the violent storm/flood had finally finished. Towards the end of the poem, we become aware that the ransom that the peasants wanted was not for riches but for the life of the princess. As the princess may never return as she is willing to "perish: in the name of God", it suggests that maybe she had finally be able to sour and release her potential. She insisted that even if her death allows the peasants to eat and live "today" and not any other day, she had come to find peace within herself. She had been able to truly find peace in being a servant of God, striving for the well being of a people, and not of the blood stained heritage that she gained from her father. This newly found spirituality is therefore the reason for her not returning, just as the dove didn't.
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nasra
1/23/2014 05:28:33 pm
at the end of the poem the princess finishes by saying "if I perish, I perish". This is used to establish her identity. Throughout the poem, especially at the start we get the idea that the princess is almost locked up in this castle, as she is unable to act. However, now she finally takes a stance (by sacrificing herself) and finally makes her own decision. by Then going outside of the castle walls the princess is going against her parents and so Rossetti is making us question where our loyalties should lie. With our parents or for the good of people ( and therefore with god). although it would be detrimental for the princess, her decision is portrayed as the better option.
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Elisha
1/23/2014 07:32:50 pm
In A Royal Princess Rossetti uses the symbolism of birds.'poor dove' doves are used in the bible to represent peace and reconciliation , by referring to herself as a dove the princess realizes her potential to create peace with in the kingdom in place of the king.She also refers to herself as an eagle , eagles are birds of prey by staying in the kingdom and being submissive to her father her true nature is being diminished and quashed.If an eagle cannot soar it will slowly die out .
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Muna
1/23/2014 08:31:39 pm
It almost becomes a shock to the princess when she begins to realise that the women and men her father treats them as cattle’s are just like herself 'human flesh and blood' (line 35). This depicts how surprised she is and this triggers her to rebel, well to think about rebelling. Rossetti might have added the element of the Royal Princess rebelling to add an element of contrast into the poem. You wouldn't find or see a princess rebelling in those times, so Rossetti might have done this as it could maybe link back to her life, something she has gone against.
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Maninderjit
1/23/2014 10:13:59 pm
Rossetti tells the story through the narrators gradual telling of events in linear chronology. The narrator starts by describing the affairs of the time in general focussing on wealth, and then goes on to describing a specific moment in time leading to the dissatisfaction and unrest of the narrator. This allows the reader to sympathise with the loneliness that the narrator feels. The rhythms speed in the poem also increases conveying that the narrators lost realisation of time due to the loneliness and isolation the narrator has had of the outside world.
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Sadiya
1/23/2014 10:36:45 pm
'Me, poor dove that must not coo-eagle that must not soar', the dove symbolises freedom and independence that the princess lacks which is why she is considered as 'poor' despite of the fact that she belongs to a wealthy family. By saying this Rossetti is trying to show the importance of freedom in life as well as the fact that wealth does not necessary bring happiness along, it is the companionship and freedom that makes a person rich.
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lindsay
5/10/2014 01:49:38 am
The contrast between the princess and her maids is mad very clear within the poem. She has all the "treasures" she could possibly want yet she still feels trapped by the guards who are "two and two on either hand". It's also well noting that the princess is always shown as alone in the poem as her maids "left me there alone" yet her maids are shown as a collective and are never alone signifying the contrast between the happiness that exists there as all she wants is a "friend". The princess also says that she would "rather be a peasant" than a princess who is so alone all the time so that she may one day know "one love's secret lore".
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saima
8/24/2014 09:15:17 pm
In A Royal Princess and In Cousin Kate Rossetti highlights the inequality between the sexes through the use of the comparison between the genders. This is shown in A Royal Princess from the beginning line where the princess defines herself in relation to a man, her father as she says ‘king descended’. This shows how the princess has been given her role through her father who is a king and that she doesn’t have her own independence and freedom. The narrator also comes across as passive whist the men get involved in active pursuits that make an impact on the world, whereas she can only play her harp, sew, read or be fanned by her maids.
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