‘Remember’ is a beautiful, but sad poem, where the speaker imagines her own future death and thinks about how she would like her loved ones to respond once she has passed away. Considering that Rossetti was only 19 at the time of writing this poem, it’s a strange and dark way for her to think at such a young age! However, it also shows her own extreme kindness and concern for those around her – she loves them dearly and would hate for them to suffer at her expense, so she wants to be forgotten rather than remembered, if the remembrance would cause them too much pain.
Below, you’ll find the full poem, plus links to a more in-depth analysis!
Remember
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 plann’d:
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.
Christina Rossetti
Thanks for reading! If you’re studying this particular poem, you can buy our detailed study guide here. This includes:
- Vocabulary
- Story + Summary
- Speaker + Voice
- Language Feature Analysis
- Form and Structure Analysis
- Context
- Attitudes + Messages
- Themes + Deeper Ideas
- Key Quotations
- Extra tasks to complete by yourself
Thanks for reading! If you find this helpful, you can look at our full online Edexcel IGCSE Poetry course here. Use the code “EDEXCEL” to receive a 15% discount!
