Remember by Christina Rossetti

Full Text

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Overview

Rossetti’s speaker asks to be remembered after death, then gently releases the beloved from that duty.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-8

The octave insists on remembrance after death and acknowledges the finality of separation.

Lines 9-14

The sestet reverses the request: forgetting is kinder than sorrowful memory.

Themes

• Grief
• Memory
• Love
• Selflessness
• Death

Literary Devices

Volta

Yet if you should forget me — The turn shifts from demand to release.

Alliteration

forget and smile — Soft sounds underscore the gentle concession.

Historical Context

Rossetti’s devotional sensibility often tempers passion with restraint; this sonnet exemplifies that balance.