ENGB45H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Elizabeth Siddal
Document Summary
Strong distinction that"s almost switched large hearted and big brained . Strong shoulders : there"s the bit of strong theme. Religious theme; not human concerns (divine concerns) There are no real female angels constructions; why are we thinking about pretty female angels when real angels are beings of power (no popular ones anyway); asking us to think about our gender. Poem asking us to think that sex doesn"t matter; but the poem is not saying just this. Unincarnate : fleshless/sexless beings that are only freed by god. Rossetti and browning"s speaker: both are expressing what the poet hopes for: no one knows what heaven is like. R. is hoping for a sexy heaven because he misses his lover. B. is hoping for a sexless heaven because she is oppressed because of her sex. Rhyme progresses to something that"s not normal. Wants to progress to something not normal. Tension: you can"t separate flesh from self, divine from human.
