Good Friday Christina Rossetti 1830-1894

Am I a stone, and not a sheep, That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy cross, To number drop by drop Thy Blood’s slow loss, And yet not weep? Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief was moved; Not so the Sun and Moon Which hid their faces in a starless sky. A horror of great darkness at broad noon – I, only I. Yet give not o’er But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; Greater than Moses, turn and look once more And smite a rock. Good Friday (1862)

The speaker of Good Friday imagines him/herself standing beneath the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. The speaker reflects that, unlike all the other witnesses to the scene, s/he remains unmoved, like a ‘stone'. However, s/he asks Jesus to look at him/her and break this hard-heartedness. To pray is to communicate, either aloud or in the heart, with God. Since, throughout the poem, the speaker addresses Christ, the poem itself can be read as an example of prayer. The speaker begins with a plea. Addressing Christ, s/he asks how it is that s/he can stand beneath the cross and not weep. At the end of the poem, s/he presents a request that Christ would ‘smite a rock' (line 16). It can be inferred, from the earlier imagery of the stone, that this rock symbolises the speaker. However, by leaving it open to interpretation, Rossetti allows the reader to reflect on the biblical examples of God expressing his power and strength and to imagine the rock as something relevant to his or her own situation. In this, she enables Good Friday to take the form of a corporate prayer that, although uttered by many people simultaneously, is given a different personal relevance by each individual. Summary

By choosing to consider first the ‘women' who ‘with exceeding grief lamented Thee' (lines 5-6), Rossetti acknowledges the legitimacy of their emotions as a valuable part of the crucifixion narrative. In the Victorian period, women's feelings were often seen in a negative light. Here, Rossetti challenges this conception and suggests that the women were right to lament as they did. Summary Gender

In the Church calendar, Good Friday is the Friday that precedes Easter Sunday and is the day when Christians remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It is called 'good' by Christians, because they believe the death of Jesus made it possible for human sin to be forgiven. It is a day many Christians dedicate to fasting and to prayer. Context

Good Friday is understood to be a devotional poem Good Friday is understood to be a devotional poem. In literature, the term ‘devotional' indicates writing which may enhance a person's religious faith or life. Rossetti wrote hundreds of devotional poems in her lifetime, both as an act of prayer expressing her close relationship with God and as an encouragement for her readers to live a life of devotion or worship. All of her devotional poems are based upon the promises, warnings and prophecies of the Bible. Considering that Good Friday is included as the penultimate poem of the original volume, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems, it can be seen to reflect back upon the earlier poems included in the volume or to conclude some issues that previous poems raised but did not answer. Context Good Friday

Crucifixion is execution by nailing or binding a person to a cross Crucifixion is execution by nailing or binding a person to a cross. It was a practice which was used frequently in the Roman Empire and was one of the most painful and degrading forms of capital punishment in the ancient world. Christians believe that the crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:17-18), recorded in all four Gospels, made salvation available to humankind (John 3:16-17). Context crucifixion

Context- Greater than Moses In the final verse, Rossetti declares that Christ is ‘Greater than Moses' (line 15). Moses was a very important Jewish leader. His life is described in the Old Testament, beginning in Exodus. Following God's command Moses struggled against the Egyptian Pharaoh (king) to get the Jewish people released from slavery. He then led them through the wilderness for 40 years towards the land of Canaan. During this time, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Moses is traditionally viewed as the author of the first five books of the Bible. Context- Greater than Moses

The speaker compares him/herself to ‘those women' who loved Christ and ‘with exceeding grief lamented Thee' (lines 5-6). This alludes to the description given in the Gospel of Luke of Jesus being led up to the place of crucifixion, followed by a crowd: “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.” Luke 23:27 TNIV Whilst the speaker wishes to be part of this number, s/he recognises that the numbness felt creates a separation from this experience. Context The women

The speaker continues to express a concern about such numbed emotions in the lament that s/he is unlike ‘fallen Peter weeping bitterly' (line 7). During the course of the Last Supper, Peter assures Jesus that he is willing to follow him to prison or even to death. In response, Jesus tells Peter, ‘Before the cock crows today, you will deny three times that you know me'. (Luke 22: 34) After Jesus had been arrested, Peter ran away and when he was accused of being one of his followers, he denied it. Upon being questioned a third time: The Gospel of Luke tells us that, Peter replied, ‘Man, I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times'. And he went outside and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:60-62) TNIV It is the description of Peter weeping bitterly with which the speaker of Good Friday is concerned. The lament that s/he is not able to weep in the same way as him indicates that the speaker is unable to express remorse or sorrow. Context Peter

According to the gospel accounts, when Jesus was crucified two criminals were also executed either side of him, one of whom recognised Jesus' innocence. The speaker compares his/her lack of feeling to this thief who, even in the midst of his own agony, has compassion for Christ (Luke 23:30-32,40). Context The thief

The speaker sees the fact that even nature is traumatised by Jesus' crucifixion as a contrast to his/her lack of feeling. This idea alludes to the following gospel account: “It was now about the sixth hour and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.” Luke 23:44-5 TNIV Context Sun and moon

What associations do you have with the idea of a shepherd What associations do you have with the idea of a shepherd? Are these associations met in the poem? What associations do you have with the idea of sheep? Are these associations met in the poem? Why do you think that the speaker would rather resemble a sheep than a stone? Why do you think that the speaker is unable to experience the crucifixion in the same way as the women, Peter or the thief? What is the effect of alluding to the people described in the crucifixion narrative? Investigating…

Structure and versification Comment on the rhyme scheme in the poem Whilst the rhyme pattern of the first two stanzas runs abba, the pattern of the final two runs abab. This change in the pattern can be seen to reflect the change that the speaker undergoes as s/he engages with the account of the crucifixion and the speaker's reference to Christ being greater than Moses. By enclosing rhyming couplets within the centre of the first two verses, Rossetti structurally expresses the entrapment that the speaker feels as s/he attempts to break out of his/her numb state and to become more like a sheep than a stone. As s/he comes closer to a realisation that God is powerful enough to ‘smite a rock' (line 16) and therefore, powerful enough to enable him/her to feel, the structure of the poem changes to reflect this. Whereas the scheme abba reflects a static position, the scheme abab suggests an onward movement and progression. Structure and versification

Structure and versification Comment on the rhythm of the poem The predominant rhythm of the poem is iambic with the stresses falling on syllables that convey emotion or express uncertainty. For instance, in the first two lines, the pronoun ‘I' is stressed twice, along with the words ‘stone', ‘not', ‘sheep' and ‘stand'. The repeated spondees* of ‘Not so' break the flowing rhythm, whilst those in l.11 (‘great dark(ness)' and ‘broad noon') add to the heaviness of the situation. * A unit of metre, being a foot of two long, or stressed, syllables. It is impossible to construct many lines of verse in spondees, and such feet are usually inserted into some other metre to give emphasis) Structure and versification

Structure and versification With the stress falling on the ‘s' sound of the words stone, sheep and stand Rossetti uses sibilanceto create a repetitive and weary tone which appears to be voicing questions that have already been asked many times before. In the final verse, the sibilance is repeated but for a different effect. In the plea, ‘But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock', the ‘s' sound is again stressed but, by culminating it in the word ‘flock', the speaker expresses an end to her monotonous questioning. The change from the stressed ‘s' to the ‘f' expresses the change that the speaker undergoes as s/he finds comfort in becoming a part of God's ‘flock' rather than remaining a restless outsider. In the third verse, the line, ‘I, only I' uses the form of the dimeter* foot. The two stressed I's at each end imitate the sense of entrapment the speaker feels as s/he is confined by the inability of feeling and experiencing the emotions described in the biblical narrative. *A verse consisting of two measures, that is containing either two or four feet. Structure and versification

Structure and versification Comment on the caesura of the poem Commas are used within lines to make the reader pause. They often create a break between one statement of feeling or expression and another. In the line, ‘That I can stand O Christ, beneath Thy Cross' (line 2), the commas act as caesura which reinforce the halting and uncertain voice of the speaker as s/he expresses complex emotions. In the final verse, commas are again used but here they express certain changes in emphasis: But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; Greater than Moses, turn and look once more (lines 14-5) Both these lines express the movement the speaker makes towards Christ. Following the commas, both lines articulate the ‘turn' that enables the speaker to experience the love, grief and bitterness felt by those described in the biblical narrative. Structure and versification

If Christ can ‘smite a rock', what else does the speaker suggest he is able to do? How does this make the speaker feel? Circle the imagery and symbolism used in the poem Which images do you find the most surprising and why? Why do you think that the word ‘Blood' is capitalised? What is the effect of the description of the blood dripping down from the cross? Imagery and symbolism

Imagery and symbolism The stone and the rock The poem begins with the speaker asking, ‘Am I a stone and not a sheep' (line 1). S/he moves onto lament his/her lack of feeling and emotion before declaring that Christ, the ‘true Shepherd' is able to ‘smite a rock' (lines 14, 16). The Book of Exodus describes how, whilst he was leading the people out of Egypt and towards the Promised Land Moses received a lot of complaints. The people were not happy as they were incredibly thirsty and tired. In a state of exhaustion, Moses asked God what he was to do next. The LORD answered Moses, ‘Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink'. So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:5-6. TNIV In Good Friday, Rossetti's speaker imitates the exhausted and desperate tone of Moses in pleading with Christ to ‘turn and look once more' and ‘smite a rock', enabling him/her to feel again (lines 15-16). There is the unspoken hope that, as water emerged from the rock at Horeb after it was struck, so will the speaker's emotions. Imagery and symbolism

Imagery and symbolism Blood As s/he imagines herself standing ‘beneath Thy Cross' (line 2), the speaker wonders at how s/he is able to: ‘number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss And yet not weep' (lines 3-4). The description of blood slowly dripping down from Christ's body is an indication of the painful and slow process of crucifixion. The speaker's wonder that s/he cannot weep comes from an understanding of the gruesomeness of the punishment, coupled with the knowledge of the innocence of Christ and of the speaker's own sin for which s/he believes Christ is suffering. Imagery and symbolism

Imagery and symbolism The ‘Sun and Moon‘ Rossetti personifies the ‘Sun and Moon' by speaking of them hiding ‘their faces in a starless sky' (lines 8-9). The idea that even the seemingly fearless entities of the sun and the moon could not remain to look upon the crucifixion reinforces the sense of its gruesomeness and its disruptive significance. Imagery and symbolism

How much do the speaker's ideas about him/herself change over the course of Good Friday? How does s/he perceive him/herself at the end of the poem? How far can the poem be described as one of transformation? Final questions