Rossetti, Christina Georgina

Rossetti, Christina Georgina

(rōsĕt`ē), 1830–94, English poet; daughter of Gabriele RossettiRossetti, Gabriele
, 1783–1854, Italian poet and critic; father of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and of Christina Rossetti. Exiled in 1821, he fled first to Malta, where he stayed for three years, and then to England, where he lived until his death.
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 and sister of Dante Gabriel RossettiRossetti, Dante Gabriel
, 1828–82, English poet and painter; son of Gabriele Rossetti and brother of Christina Rossetti. He attended the Royal Academy and studied painting briefly with Ford Madox Brown. In 1848 he became acquainted with W.
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. Publication of some of her poems in her brother William's magazine the Germ was her only contribution to Pre-Raphaelite activities. She was a devout Anglican and lived the last 15 years of her life as a recluse in her home. Many of her poems are religious, some melancholy and death-obsessed, e.g., "Uphill" and "When I Am Dead, My Dearest." Possessing a spontaneous lyrical gift, she had a firm command of traditional poetic forms. Much of her work shows a marked moral intelligence and independence of spirit, and she is recognized as an important Victorian-era poet. Her simple songs, especially in Sing-Song (1872), were favorites with children. Her volumes of poetry include Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), probably her best work; The Prince's Progress (1866); and A Pageant and Other Poems (1881).

Bibliography

See Christina Rossetti: A Writer's Life (1995); studies by E. K. Charles (1985), D. Rosenblum (1986), A. H. Harrison (1988), and D. A. Kent, ed. (1988).