After Death

Christina Rossetti
    The curtains were half drawn, the floor was swept 
      And strewn with rushes, rosemary and may 
      Lay thick upon the bed on which I lay, 
    Where thro' the lattice ivy-shadows crept. 
    He leaned above me, thinking that I slept 
      And could not hear him; but I heard him say: 
      "Poor child, poor child:" and as he turned away 
    Came a deep silence, and I knew he wept. 
    He did not touch the shroud, or raise the fold 
      That hid my face, or take my hand in his, 
        Or ruffle the smooth pillows for my head: 
        He did not love me living; but once dead 
      He pitied me; and very sweet it is 
    To know he still is warm tho' I am cold.
 

    Questions for Group Discussion and Journal

  1. When do you find out that the speaker is actually dead? Re-read the poem with this awareness, what do you think about the speaker's tone? If you find her calm, is it the same kind of calmness as that of Porphyria's lover?
  2. What do you think about the speaker's attitudes toward the man who cries for her?
  3. What difference does it make if the man, the intended silent listener, can hear the speaker?
Application & Wild Association
  1. How is the theme of love and death differently in "Porphyria's Lover," "My Last Duchess," and "After Death"?
  2. Compare the use of death in "After Death" with that in Emily Dickinson's "I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died."