Daniel J's English Journal

Rossetti uses many forms of religious imagery spread throughout the poem, with the reader being able to interpret the contrasts between heaven and hell, sin and virtue. ‘Blood’s a bar I cannot pass’ – with bar representing a barrier, or rather threshold to keep within the theme of the poem, that she simply cannot cross. Rossetti is very insistent on the repenting of her sins, almost a suggestion that she does not consider herself to be as pure as she once was. Rossetti’s monologue also gives the reader an idea of her intentions, with the lines ‘choose the stairs that mount above’ as she is climbing ‘Stair after golden skyward stair’ towards the place she describes as ‘paradise’. In terms of religious imagery, this could be interpreted to be biblical, with the image referring to the Book of Genesis, where Jacob dreams of stairs from earth that one can climb up to heaven on. ‘Stairs are meant to lift us higher’ also suggests this, almost envisioning her body staying on earth while her soul climbs the ladder. ‘My face was pinched, my hair was grey, And frozen blood was on the sill, Where stifling in my struggle lay’ – This suggests, more specifically with the blood itself, that Rossetti may have sinned or at least in her eyes, possibly in a sexual nature. By performing the act of sex to someone out of wedlock, she may feel guilty and need to repent this sin in particular. This is supported with the quote ‘My sheets are red’ and the contradictory line ‘You sinned with me, a pleasant sin’ – suggesting that as much as she enjoyed this act, it wasn’t the right thing to do. This is further supported with the line ‘At length I rose and knelt and prayed’ in attempt to repent her sins, as pleasant as it may be.