The two poems ‘A Birthday’ and ‘Remember’ are written by the same person, Christina Rossetti. ‘Remember’ is about the end of love and ‘A Birthday’ is about the celebration of love. These two poems are the opposite of one another, when you think of a birthday you think of the birth of something a happy day, but when you remember something it has the possibility of being a happy or upsetting memory. The two poems ‘A Birthday’ and ‘Remember’ are different because ‘Remember’ is written in a sonnet form and ‘A Birthday’ is written in one stanza that has sixteen lines.
The mood of these two poems is quite different. ‘Remember’ is depressing for the reason that Christina Rossetti is writing about leaving and death. “Remember me when no more day by day”, Christina Rossetti is preparing her lover for what is to come when she is no more around. ‘A Birthday’ is a colourful poem. “Because my love is come to me” Christina Rossetti is celebrating her love in her life which makes the poem joyful.
‘A Birthday’ is much lighter than ‘Remember’ it has colour and delight whereas ‘Remember’ is miserable and deep. A Birthday’ is a picture written in words. There is rhyme in this poem, every other line rhymes. ‘purple dyes’ rhymes with ‘hundred eyes’. Christina Rossetti repeats ‘My heart’ four times in the first 7 lines of the poem. “My heart is like a rainbow shell” she is telling the reader how much she enjoys life and that it is full of bright bursting colours. ‘Remember’ is structured in sonnet form. The poem has three quatrains and a rhyming couplet in it. In the first quatrain the poet shows the unwillingness of the woman who is going to leave.
Remember me’ and ‘Gone far away into the silent land’ are quote that suggest the woman does want to be remembered when she is gone. In the 2nd half the woman starts to command things of her lover of what they are to do when she has gone. ‘And afterwards remember, do not grieve’ she is telling her lover what she wants which changed the poem from its sad depressing feeling to more of a tense feeling. The language of the two poems ‘A Birthday’ and ‘Remember’ are different.
The imagery that Christina Rossetti uses in ‘Remember’ is a dull, grey image. It is almost a painful image that Christina Rossetti has made. ‘You tell me of our future that you planned:’ this sentence makes it clear that the woman is not planning on staying much longer, as it says ‘you planned’ not we planned. Christina Rossetti has used similes for the poem ‘A Birthday’, “My heart is like a rainbow shell” This presents hope and piece. Christina Rossetti uses a lot of imagery in ‘A Birthday’ as she is trying to paint a picture in words.
The image of colour is what makes the poem flow like a rainbow. ‘Remember’ to me seems to be on a different level from ‘A Birthday’. Both poems are deep but in different ways, ‘A Birthday’ is more of a cheerful poem whereas ‘Remember’ is more of a depressing poem. I think that ‘Remember’ has more meaning to it which is why I prefer it to ‘A Birthday’. The reason I do not like ‘A Birthday’ as much as it is for me too colourful, it does not feel as if it has a good deal meaning to it.
