Biography
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| Scanned image and text by George P. Landow |
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti in Italy during the nineteenth century. He became a professor of Italian language at King’s College in London. Interested in writing and art, he was the secretary and historian for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. A woman named Elizabeth Eleanor Siddal modeled for many of his paintings, and Rossetti married her in 1860. Only months after their marriage, Elizabeth died, putting Rossetti into a state of despair. Rossetti primarily painted and wrote poetry, and helped push the image of what would later become the “idealized Victorian woman.” This image is of a woman who is
tall and thin with a pale complexion. Overall, this image of the Victorian woman is frail almost to the point of looking sickly. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as a whole also pushed this image into the forefront of Victorian art and poetry. It is reminiscent of the types of women most commonly painted several centuries before, which is the type of art the Brotherhood was at
tempting to reconnect to. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s eyesight and health in general quickly deteriorated as he grew older, and he died in 1882.
The following is a video about some of the history and characteristics of Rossetti and the Brotherhood.
The photo is allowed to be used for scholarly purposes.
Examples of Rossetti’s Poetry
Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote several books worth of poetry, and many of the poems are very long, often spanning the length of several pages. Here are a few excerpts of his poetry. The source of these excerpts and more can be found here.
LOVE’S NOCTURN.
Master of the murmuring courts
_Where the shapes of sleep convene!—
Lo! my spirit here exhorts
_All the powers of thy demesne
_For their aid to woo my queen.
What reports
_Yield thy jealous courts unseen?
Vaporous, unaccountable,
_Dreamland lies forlorn of light,
Hollow like a breathing shell.
_Ah! that from all dreams I might
_Choose one dream and guide its flight!
I know well
_What her sleep should tell to-night.
TROY TOWN.
Heavenborn Helen, Sparta’s queen,
((( O Troy Town!)
Had two breasts of heavenly sheen,
The sun and moon of the heart’s desire:
All Love’s lordship lay between.
_( O Troy’s down,
_Tall Troy’s on fire!)
Helen knelt at Venus’ shrine,
_( O Troy Town!)
Saying, ‘A little gift is mine,
A little gift for a heart’s desire.
Hear me speak and make me a sign!
_( O Troy’s down,
_Tall Troy’s on fire!)
Willowwood
Sources
http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/prb/3.html
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dgr/dgrseti13.html
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dgr/g1.html
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/dante-gabriel-rossetti
http://www.neuroticpoets.com/rossetti/
Said to be released with Creative Commons, so add some later with credit:
http://www.rossettiarchive.org/about/index.html
http://www.rossettiarchive.org/docs/s205.rap.html
Contributor: Young