After Death by Christina Georgina Rossetti
A dead speaker hears a man express pity and realizes that he weeps, though he leaves the shroud and the speaker’s hand untouched. He did not love the speaker in life, but his pity after death makes it sweet to know that he remains warm while the speaker is cold.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Sonnet, Dramatic Monologue · 192 words
First lines
Sonnet.
The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept / And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may / Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay, / Where through the lattice ivy-shadows crept. / He leaned above me, thinking that I slept / And could not hear him; but I heard him say: / "Poor child, poor child": and as he turned away / Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept. / He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold / That hid my face, or take my hand in his, / Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head: / He did not love me living; but once dead / He pitied me; and very sweet it is / To know he still is warm though I am cold.
What this Textopian page supports
After Death is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Sonnet, Dramatic Monologue
- Length: 192 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for After Death by Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Sonnet — The source labels the poem a sonnet and presents fourteen rhyming lines, turning from the man's visit to the speaker's reflection on his pity.
- Dramatic Monologue — A dead speaker recounts a man's words and withheld gestures, then reveals a private response to his tears and continued life.
Tags
death · pity · mourning · sonnet