Poetry Analysis: Rossetti's "Remember"

"Remember" by Christina Rossetti was published in Goblin Market and other Poems. The central concept of the poem is the abstract phenomenon of remembrance. The poem is addressed to a loved one. It is a universal fact that one is remembered and regarded more when he/she is at a distance. The remembrance of the one lost forever, is indeed poignant. The poetess does not mention explicitly that she may enter the realm of death. She euphemistically states that she passes into a 'silent land' as Emily Dickinson does in her poem "Because I could Not Stop for Death" where she states that the horses' heads had turned towards eternity. The poetess redefines the stance of death in different ways. She claims:

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.

That is: when the person in question is divorced from her with regard to all the major sensory perceptions. When there is no time for resolution or irresolution. She also reiterates that in such a circumstance there will be no second-thoughts or afterthoughts. The above lines also echo the cyclical process of history-of separation and reconciliation. The position of the two lovers reflect the hands of a clock in their position, and gives one the impression that the clock is standing still at the defining moment.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Death is universal and uninvited. Therefore the incessant planning for the future only remains a recollection, and no longer a reality on the death of the beloved. The time will be too late for advice or prayers as the speaker would be too far to even consider action with regard to time and space. If he does forget her for a while and then recall her, he must not grieve. He may recall her in moments of darkness or corruption; for, in such situations he would seek refuge in the memory of the lady love. If the "darkness and corruption" leave a vestige of the thoughts that once she had, she assures him that he should forget her and be happy, rather than recall her and become sad.