A Birthday

Christina Rossetti's A Birthday

Introduction

Christina Rossetti's poem "A Birthday" stands as a testament to the transformative power of love and the exuberance of the human spirit when touched by profound emotion. This analysis aims to unpack the intricate layers of meaning, symbolism, and technical mastery embedded within Rossetti's carefully crafted verses. Through a close examination of the poem's structure, imagery, and thematic resonance, we will explore how Rossetti weaves a tapestry of joy that transcends the personal to touch upon universal human experiences.

Structure and Form

"A Birthday" is composed of two stanzas, each containing eight lines, forming an octave. The poem adheres to a strict rhyme scheme of ABCBDDEE, which Rossetti maintains with remarkable consistency across both stanzas. This adherence to form creates a sense of harmony and balance, mirroring the emotional equilibrium achieved by the speaker in the presence of their love.

The regularity of the iambic tetrameter throughout most of the poem provides a rhythmic pulse that echoes the beating of an excited heart. However, Rossetti occasionally deviates from this pattern, particularly in the first and fifth lines of each stanza, where an extra unstressed syllable creates a feminine ending. This subtle variation adds a layer of complexity to the poem's musicality and prevents the rhythm from becoming monotonous.

Imagery and Symbolism

The poem is rich with vivid imagery, primarily drawn from nature in the first stanza and from luxurious, man-made objects in the second. This dichotomy between the natural and the artificial creates a comprehensive picture of joy that encompasses both the organic, spontaneous happiness of the natural world and the deliberate, cultivated celebration of human culture.

First Stanza: Natural Imagery

The opening stanza presents a series of similes, each comparing the speaker's heart to various natural phenomena:

1. "a singing bird / Whose nest is in a water'd shoot"
2. "an apple-tree / Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit"
3. "a rainbow shell / That paddles in a halcyon sea"

These images progress from air (bird) to earth (tree) to water (shell), creating a sense of completeness that encompasses the entire natural world. The singing bird suggests joy and freedom, while the nested quality implies security and comfort. The apple-tree, heavy with fruit, evokes ideas of abundance, fertility, and the fruition of long-held hopes. The rainbow shell in a calm sea combines the ethereal beauty of the rainbow with the peacefulness of tranquil waters, suggesting a harmonious blend of the extraordinary and the serene.

Second Stanza: Artificial Splendor

In contrast, the second stanza shifts to imagery of human-made opulence:

1. "a dais of silk and down"
2. "vair and purple dyes"
3. "doves and pomegranates"
4. "peacocks with a hundred eyes"
5. "gold and silver grapes"
6. "leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys"

This lavish imagery evokes a sense of royalty, celebration, and artistic creation. The dais suggests elevation and honor, while the rich fabrics and dyes imply luxury and rarity. The carved motifs of doves (symbolizing peace and love), pomegranates (fertility and abundance), and peacocks (beauty and pride) create a visual feast that mirrors the emotional richness of the speaker's experience.

Thematic Analysis

Love as Transformative Force

At its core, "A Birthday" is a celebration of love's arrival and its power to transform the speaker's world. The title itself is significant, suggesting that the coming of love marks a new beginning, a rebirth of sorts for the speaker. This idea is reinforced in the final line of the poem: "the birthday of my life / Is come, my love is come to me."

The transformative nature of this love is evident in the progression from the first stanza to the second. While the first stanza describes the speaker's heart through natural similes, suggesting an inherent, existing joy, the second stanza calls for the creation of an elaborate, artificial setting to honor this love. This shift implies that the arrival of love not only enhances the speaker's natural happiness but also inspires a desire to manifest that joy in the physical world through art and celebration.

Joy and Exuberance

The overwhelming sense of joy permeates every line of the poem. Rossetti's use of hyperbole, particularly in the lines "My heart is gladder than all these" and "the birthday of my life," emphasizes the superlative nature of the speaker's happiness. The cumulative effect of the multiple similes and the rich, sensory imagery creates a sense of abundance that mirrors the speaker's emotional state.

The Interplay of Sacred and Secular

While "A Birthday" can be read as a purely secular love poem, it also contains undertones of religious symbolism that add depth to its interpretation. The imagery of doves, pomegranates, and peacocks has connections to Christian iconography, with doves often representing the Holy Spirit, pomegranates symbolizing the Church, and peacocks associated with immortality and the all-seeing nature of God.

Furthermore, the structure of the poem, with its movement from natural to artificial imagery, can be seen as mirroring the Christian concept of moving from the earthly to the heavenly realm. In this reading, the love described could be interpreted as divine love, with the birthday representing a spiritual awakening or union with the divine.

Literary Context and Influence

Christina Rossetti, as a key figure in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, brings to "A Birthday" the movement's characteristic emphasis on vivid imagery, emotional intensity, and a return to the supposed purity of early Renaissance art. The poem's lush descriptions and its fusion of the natural and the artistic align closely with Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics.

Moreover, Rossetti's work often grapples with themes of love, faith, and the tension between earthly and spiritual desires. "A Birthday" stands out in her oeuvre for its unabashed celebration of joy, contrasting with the more somber or conflicted tones found in many of her other works, such as "Remember" or "Goblin Market."

Conclusion

"A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti is a masterful exploration of love's transformative power, rendered through carefully structured verse and rich, multifaceted imagery. By interweaving natural and artificial elements, secular and potentially sacred symbolism, Rossetti creates a poem that resonates on multiple levels. It stands as both a personal expression of joy and a universal celebration of love's ability to renew and elevate the human spirit.

The poem's enduring appeal lies in its ability to capture the essence of a profound emotional experience while simultaneously engaging the reader's senses and intellect. Through her skillful use of poetic devices and her deep understanding of the human heart, Rossetti has crafted a work that continues to inspire and move readers, inviting us all to share in the ecstasy of a love that marks the "birthday of my life."