Term

Overall message

Definition

The poem's heroine is a 'fallen' woman; one deemed unworthy by society, usually as a result of sexual experience outside marriage. The dominant metaphor is of apples as the symbol of temptation and premature self-indulgence, a biblical allusion to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge that Eve tasted in Genesis, the temptation that resulted in the Fall of Man. Apples - it was medieval iconology that associated the apple with original sin

Term

Structure

Definition

The poem comprises of seven quatrains with an ABAB interlocking rhyme scheme - exception in fourth quatrain. Metrical rhythm - Iambic pentameter with the last line of each Stanza Iambic tetrameter, giving the last line of each stanza extra emphasis. 1st person persona. Tone - regret and hopelessness. The speaker is a pariah, marginalised by society for her sexual misdemeanour.

Term

Context

Definition

Composed 1857. Written shortly after Rossetti lost her first love - Collinson. Rossetti's poems are never directly confessional but this arguably had personal undertones. St Mary Magdalene Home for Fallen Women. 'Fallen Women' = the respectable term for prostitutes or women who had sex out of wedlock. The charity gave them shelter and work, seeking to rehabilitate them and steer them on to a more socially acceptable path. Rossetti volunteered here from 1859-70, where she was known as 'Sister Christina'. Her later poetry, which engages with themes of sisterhood and prohibited love, reveal the enduring influence of her firsthand experiences at Highgate/ During the 19th century prostitution was commonly referred to as 'the social evil'.