The Complete Poems (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Christina Rossetti (Author), R. W. Crump (Author), Betty S. Flowers (Author) "Morning and evening..." (more)
Key Phrases: title see note for title, sunrise cannot vie, deep see note, The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti, Jesus Christ, Lord God (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Christina Rossetti is unique among Victorian poets for the sheer range of her subject matter and the variety of her verse form. This first fully annotated collection, based on the definitive texts, brings together fantasy poems such as "Goblin Market," terrifyingly vivid verses for children, love lyrics, sonnets, hymns, and ballads, as well as the vast body of her devotional poetry. Weaving connections between love and death, triumph and loss, heavenly joys and earthly pleasures, Rossetti's poems startle the imagination with their extraordinary truth, beauty, and intensity.

This edition, the only one available in paperback, incorporates contextual notes as well as notes on the text and language, an introduction, and a chronology of Rossetti's life and work.

Edited by R. W. Crump. Introduction and notes by Betty Sue.

About the Author
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) first published her poetry in the Pre-Raphaelite magazine The Germ in 1850, and several volumes of poetry followed, demonstrating an extraordinary emotional and technical range.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1312 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (October 30, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140423664
• ISBN-13: 978-0140423662
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #262,734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy tales, feminism, and faith, January 9, 2003

By	Amanda Pellett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first paperback edition of Rossetti's complete poems. The book is rather daunting at over 1200 pages, and nearly 200 of those pages are textual notes. The textual notes are great for those interested in the historical context of Rossetti's work, biblical influence and allusions in her poetry, and some relevant excerpts from her letters as well as her brother's notes to a previous publication of her complete poems.

The variety and bulk of her work are the most impressive aspects of this volume. The poetry collections published during her lifetime included a set of nursery rhymes, a series of devotional verses, two books beginning with long fairy tales, and another beginning with a children's pageant of the months which was widely performed during her lifetime. All of these collections are included here, as well as all of her other extant published and unpublished poems. Some of the unpublished poems include a moving series of love poems written in Italian, with translation into English in the textual notes.

If you are incredibly interested in Rossetti's life and poetry, absolutely buy this. For the casual fan of her poetry, I would recommend buying a smaller book such as the Everyman Paperback Classics collection of her work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent volume, November 12, 2003

By	Oli (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This is a comprehensive volume of the work from the greatest woman poet ever to write in the English Language. It contains all of her poems, properly organised into the correct categories (and a decent index!). It doesn't have any of the prose work like Speaking Likenesses or Face of the Deep, but for her skilled, deep, and beautiful poetry this publication is essential.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fields of poetic flowers, April 21, 2009

By	William Timothy Lukeman - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

After the mysterious, luscious wonders of the acclaimed "Goblin Market," I was eager to sample more of Christina Rossetti's work. Selecting this immense volume of complete poems was a bit of a leap in the dark ... but it was definitely the right choice!

The root of her poetry's lasting power is twofold, I think.

Firstly, there's the undeniable craft & artistry of it. Rossetti possesses the gift of writing melodic, evocative poetry seemingly without effort -- whatever hard work went on behind the scenes, the result on the page is always natural, compelling, and transporting. Even the poems of grief & sorrow have a somber beauty to them, a melancholy loveliness that adorns death without masking it.

Secondly, there's the interplay between Rossetti's Victorian worldview -- a mixture of sentiment, complex piety, and a stark awareness of death -- and the personal psychological forces running below the surface, often sensual & erotic. All too easy for the clashing of these things to produce confusion; but in Rossetti's case, they blend to create a remarkable & very deep wellspring of poetry.

So we have such dreamlike poems as "The Dead City," as well as the many devotional poems -- and all draw upon that same vivid, intense power. Even for the agnostic or atheist, the religious poems often possess a rich & disturbing beauty. And there are many more poems in the same opulent vein as "Goblin Market."

This volume provides brief, informative textual notes that illuminate Rossetti's sources & references. But the poetry itself is not only quite accessible to the reader, it's also as irresistable as the sweet, addictive fruit offered by the sinister goblins. Most highly recommended!