Noble Sisters by Christina Georgina Rossetti
A woman learns that her sister has driven away a falcon, a hound and a page, then told the man she loves that she already has a husband. She denounces the lie and vows to seek him through the world; her sister threatens a curse if the search shames their father's name.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Ballad, Narrative Poetry · 609 words
First lines
"Now did you mark a falcon, / Sister dear, sister dear, / Flying toward my window / In the morning cool and clear? / With jingling bells about her neck, / But what beneath her wing? / It may have been a ribbon, / Or it may have been a ring. " -- / "I marked a falcon swooping / At the break of day: / And for your love, my sister dove, / I 'frayed the thief away. " --
Genres
- Ballad — Rhymed stanzas and repeated addresses carry the sisters' exchanges from questions about visitors to a lie, a vow and a threatened curse.
- Narrative Poetry — The dialogue reveals how one sister dismisses successive visitors and deceives a suitor, prompting the other sister's vow to find him.
Tags
sisters · courtship · deception · family honor · separation · ballad
What this Textopian page supports
Noble Sisters 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: Ballad, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 609 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Noble Sisters by Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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