The Poor Ghost by Christina Georgina Rossetti
A ghost returns to a lover and says he will know the other world the next day. He begs for more time alive and professes continued love if the ghost stays buried. The ghost reproaches his failed devotion and resolves to return alone to the grave, asking to sleep until Judgment Day after his tears and sobs have disturbed its rest.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Gothic Poetry, Dramatic Poetry · 440 words
First lines
"O whence do you come, my dear friend, to me, / With your golden hair all fallen below your knee, / And your face as white as snowdrops on the lea, / And your voice as hollow as the hollow sea?"
"From the other world I come back to you, / My locks are uncurled with dripping, drenching dew. / You know the old, whilst I know the new: / But to-morrow you shall know this too."
Genres
- Gothic Poetry — A pale, hollow-voiced ghost returns from the other world, frightens a lover, and describes its lead-roofed grave.
- Dramatic Poetry — Rhymed four-line stanzas present alternating speeches between a ghost and a living lover, moving from recognition to rejection.
Tags
ghosts · love after death · fear of death · mourning · graves · Judgment Day
What this Textopian page supports
The Poor Ghost is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Gothic Poetry, Dramatic Poetry
- Length: 440 words
- Structure: 1 section, 9 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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