Passing and Glassing
Withered roses and fallen fruit mirror a woman's fading beauty and death, while dried violets and lavender offer comfort through their lingering sweetness. Passing things then become a mirror of wisdom, reflecting hope, fear, and the good or ill shaped by human work and will as deeds recur.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Meditative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 212 words
First lines
All things that pass / Are woman's looking-glass; / They show her how her bloom must fade, / And she herself be laid / With withered roses in the shade; / With withered roses and the fallen peach, / Unlovely, out of reach / Of summer joy that was.
All things that pass / Are woman's tiring-glass; / The faded lavender is sweet, / Sweet the dead violet / Culled and laid by and cared for yet; / The dried-up violets and dried lavender / Still sweet, may comfort her, / Nor need she cry Alas!
Genres
- Meditative Poetry — Three rhymed stanzas move from fading beauty and death to the comfort of preserved flowers and reflection on recurring human deeds.
- Philosophical Poetry — The final stanza connects hope, fear, good and ill with human work and will, asserting that past deeds recur.
Tags
mortality · fading beauty · dried flowers · consolation · recurrence
What this Textopian page supports
Passing and Glassing 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: Meditative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 212 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Passing and Glassing by Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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