Childhood and family experiences greatly influenced the nineteenth century romantic
Poet Christina Rossetti. Rossetti’s poems are generally short and simple, but elicit a deep emotional response. Her references to the link between nature and emotion create a romantic atmosphere.
Rosetti maintained the romantic spirit through syntax, always using the style of an irregular rhyme scheme. This form of poetry represents her past experience, her family, and her interpretations of her surroundings. As poet Maurice Bowra wrote, “Christina finds herself in her poetry when emotion has conquered her words, when then creates her most characteristic poetry” (Packer,29).
Born in London to an Italian family, Christina was the youngest of four children. Rossetti’s parents, Gabriele and Frances Rossetti, had an interest in poetry and introduced it to their children at a young age. Maria was the oldest followed by Dante Gabriel. Next came William, and finally Christina in 1830. All four children found an interest in poetry and other arts. Dante Gabriel, Christina’s closest sibling, became a well-known artist and featured Christina in one of his most famous paintings, “The Girlhood of Mary