The House of Life: A Sonnet-Sequence

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Excerpt: ...together, alive from the abyss, Clung the soul-wrung implacable close kiss; And pity of self through all made broken moan Which said, 'For once, for once, for once alone!' And still Love sang, and what he sang was this: - III 'O ye, all ye that walk in Willow-wood, That walk with hollow faces burning white; What fathom-depth of soul-struck widowhood, What long, what longer hours, one lifelong night, Ere ye again, who so in vain have wooed Your last hope lost, who so in vain invite Your lips to that their unforgotten food, Ere ye, ere ye again shall see the light! Alas! the bitter banks in Willowwood, With tear-spurge wan, with blood-wort burning red: Alas! if ever such a pillow could Steep deep the soul in sleep till she were dead, - Better all life forget her than this thing, That Willowwood should hold her wandering!' IV So sang he: and as meeting rose and rose Together cling through the wind's wellaway Nor change at once, yet near the end of day The leaves drop loosened where the heart-stain glows, - So when the song died did the kiss unclose; And her face fell back drowned, and was as grey As its grey eyes; and if it ever may Meet mine again I know not if Love knows. Only I know that I leaned low and drank A long draught from the water where she sank, Her breath and all her tears and all her soul: And as I leaned, I know I felt Love's face Pressed on my neck with moan of pity and grace, Till both our heads were in his aureole. WITHOUT HER What of her glass without her? The blank grey There where the pool is blind of the moon's face. Her dress without her? The tossed empty space Of cloud-rack whence the moon has passed away. Her paths without her? Day's appointed sway Usurped by desolate night. Her pillowed place Without her? Tears, ah me! for love's good grace, And cold forgetfulness of...

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Victorian, Art, Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1870

About the author

British poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, brother of Christina Georgina Rossetti, founded the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, a society, in England in 1848 to advance the style and spirit of Italian painting before Raphael (Raffaelo Sanzio); his known portraits and his vividly detailed, mystic poems, include "The Blessed Damozel" (1850).

This illustrator and translator with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais later mainly inspired and influenced a second generation of artists and writers, most notably William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. His work also influenced the Symbolists, a group of chiefly French writers and artists, who of the late 1800s rejected realism and used symbols to evoke ideas and emotions. He served as a major precursor of Aestheticism, an artistic and intellectual movement or the doctrine, originating in Britain in the late 19th century, that from beauty, the basic principle, derives all other, especially moral, principles.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of poetry. But having said that, this collection of sonnets from Dante Gabriel Rosetti was an enjoyable read. Poems range from the very innocent to the incredibly intimate in content, but what I liked the most was the language used. It's easy to get lost in these words, and that's not a wholly unpleasant experience.

[Suvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rossetti's paintings are out of this world. In his poetry he goes even further by describing intimate relationships. The sensuality was beautiful and it's easy to understand why the poems were controversial (a couple falls asleep after sex etc.), but in the end the purpleness and the excessive praise for love and beauty proved to be too much. Even in small doses.

[Green Lion]

I used to be rossetti's #1 hater when i read Astarte Syriaca, but Borges' lectures on the Pre-Raphaelites persuaded me to give him another try. Borges was under the impression Rossetti had written some of the finest sonnets in English; I'm inclined to agree, or, at least, submit my inability to adjudicate between pieces of the caliber of some presented here.

Rossetti left the original manuscript on his wife's corpse when she was buried. We have these poems in this collection because, by reason of his financial straits, his friends, years after her decease, exhumed the text. Grisly.

Some incredible lines in here.

"Cold commemorative eyes"

"Spring's foot half falters; scarce she yet may know
The leafless blackthorn-blossom from the snow"

"Along the love-sown fallowfield of sleep"

"Love sank us deeper than the tide of dreams"

"Across my breast the abandoned hair doth flow"

I've changed my mind; DGR is great. Borges wins.

[Cristina Contilli]

Alcuni versi che mi hanno ricordato il passato...

"Ti amo, cara: e come potrai tu mai capire / quanto ti amo?" "In pari grado io ti amo, / ecco come lo so." "Cara, non puoi sapere / quanto tu sia bella." "Se bella tanto da guadagnare / il tuo amore, il mio amore null'altro chiede." / "Il mio amore cresce a ogni ora, cara." "E anche il mio, / pur se da tempo già mi sembrava colmo!" / Così gli amanti, finché arrivi il turno dei baci.

O felici, quelli cui parole come queste / Furono linguaggio, in gioventù, tutto il giorno, / ora dopo ora, via dalla ressa del mondo, / da lavoro, lotte, gloria, dai mille assalli del vivere, / mentre amore alitava, in sospiri e silenzi, / attraverso due anime unite, un estatico controcanto.

[David Sterritt]

The best quality of Dante Gabriel Rossett’s sonnet sequence “The House of Life” isn’t its philosophical orientation but rather the musicality of its language. Like the paintings reproduced in the Cotswold Willow edition, the poems are driven by their own lush aesthetic, and while I tend to prefer the paintings, the verses are lovely in their way, and that’s enough for me.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gabriel's miscellany lacks the lyricism of his sister's Christina and the strength of his wife's Lizzie Siddal

[Viktoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Поэзия Россетти полна мистики и символизма. Чувственный, романтический слог при сложном, замысловатом синтаксисе. Язый, богатый описаниями малейших деталей, и узнаваемая мелодика стиха - все это ярко характеризует автора.

[Elizabeth]

I would caution anyone seeking an edition of 'The House of Life' not to buy from this company. Typographical errors abound in the paperback edition, and I find it hard to believe a text could have gone to print so littered with misplaced punctuation, bizarre spelling errors and a constant misuse of 'ruth' for truth' after even a glance from a proofreader.

[Marjorie Jensen]

I saw Corpse Bride right after I read this sonnet sequence, so Burton's film is entangled with Rossetti's dead lady imagery in my mind. Also, this book inspired a couple sonnets of my own--helped me grow as a poet.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this in college and its luminosity still stirs me. Hard ot find copies, so I am always looking!

[Kelly Hébert · Rating 5 out of 5]

With eyes where burning memory lights love home?

[Marian Weaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's a little purple sometimes, but my god, the man can write a hell of a sonnet.

[David Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing sonnet sequence. Deep, haunting and beautiful.