Customer Reviews

Selected Poems (Fyfield Books)

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti is perhaps the most famous of the pre-Raphaelite artists, a poet and painter of unusual skill. "Selected Poems" brings together quite a few of his best poems, including some of his more famous poems, but also more obscure ones.

It includes his best known ones such as "The Blessed Damozel" ("Her robe, ungirt from clasp to hem,/No wrought flowers did adorn,/But a white rose of Mary's gift,/For service meetly worn"), but also lesser-known ones like the charming "Woodspurge," the haunting balladic "Sister Helen," and the lush, sensuous "Card-Dealer" ("Into the silence languidly/As a tune into a tune,/Those eyes unravel the coil'd night/And know the stars at noon.")

If one thing shines through in this collection, it is Rossetti's love of beauty and his rich use of language. The pre-Raphaelite movement was created to advance the styles of Renaissance Italy, and Rossetti was among the most successful. His writing style is on best display here, in all its forms.

Clive Wilmer makes several good choices for the poems involved, showcasing all of the styles that Rossetti did best. Some are like songs, some are sonnets, and some simply straightforward rhyming poems. So the focus is on pure poetry that has aged the best, not on the style of the Victorian era.

Rossetti's style is ornate and a bit old-sounding ("Thou seest the card that falls; -- she knows/The card that followeth"), and is overwhelmed with references to nature -- plants, wind, hills, diamonds and "smooth polish'd silent things." And, of course, beautiful women with shadowy eyes and golden hair.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poetry is well-chosen in Clive Wilmer's collection, and a good introduction to his writings. Lush, rich and lastingly beautiful.