The mystery of Life, the mystery Of Death, I see Darkly as in a glass...' Christina Rossetti (1830-94) is perhaps the most contradictory of the great Victorian poets. She writes of the world's beauty, but fears that it may be deceptive, even deadly. She is a religious poet, but much of her work is driven by uncertainty. Her poems are restrained, even secretive, but they seek nothing less than the mystery of Life and Death. This edition contains Rossetti's strongest and most distinctive work: poetry (including 'Goblin Market', 'The Prince's Progress', and the sonnet sequence 'Monna Innominata'), stories (including the complete text of Maude), devotional prose (with nearly fifty entries from the 'reading diary' Times Flies), and personal letters. Those poems which Rossetti published, and those which she withheld from publication, are here brought together in chronological order, allowing the reader to observe her poetic trajectory. This edition also records the major revisions made by Rossetti when preparing her poems for publication. It brings together the fullest range of Rossetti's poetry and prose in one volume, and is an indispensable introduction to this entrancing writer. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
"The mystery of Life, the mystery Of Death, I see Darkly as in a glass..."
Christina Rossetti (1830-94) is perhaps the most contradictory of the great Victorian poets. She writes of the world’s beauty, but fears that it may be deceptive, even deadly. She is a religious poet, but much of her work is driven by uncertainty. Her poems are restrained, even secretive, but they seek nothing less than the mystery of Life and Death.
Christina Rossetti: her life and times
Simon Humphries of Linacre College, Oxford, the editor of the new edition of Rossetti’s Poems and Prose, introduces Christina Rossetti and her remarkable family 
Listen here [4:13]
Religion was of central importance to Christina Rossetti’s life and art. Simon Humphries introduces the religious debates of her time [5:33]
Introducing the Poems
The visible world for Rossetti was forever under the sway of invisible forces. Listen to Simon Humphries read ‘Who has seen the wind?’ from Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book and discuss the ways in which an awareness of Rossetti’s theological concerns can enlarge our understanding of a deceptively simple poem (1872) [2:34]
Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Song’ (’When I am dead, my dearest, sing no sad songs for me’) seems to draw on conventional poetic material such as roses, nightingales, cypress trees and love and death. But in Rossetti’s hands, the poet’s contemplated detachment from worldly things takes on strikingly large theological questions. Listen here [3:54]
In her forties, Rossetti began writing a series of books for the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.Listen to Simon Humphries discuss ‘Earth grown old’ from her reading diary, Time Flies, a poem which looks forward to the second coming of Christ [4:02]
Literary Legacy
Christina Rossetti’s poetry, antithetical to the modernist sensibility, fell out of favour in the early part of the twentieth century. But in recent decades her work has been rediscovered, not least by feminist critics, though she is far from an uncomplicated figure to champion. Rossetti’s literary legacy [4:16]
ISBN : 9780192807151
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