“Piteous my rhyme is” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Piteous my rhyme is”

“Piteous my rhyme is” Summary

“Piteous my rhyme is” Themes

• 

  Cynicism vs. Faith in Love

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.
• 

  Human Love vs. Divine Love

  • See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Piteous my rhyme is”

• Lines 1-5

  Piteous my rhyme is
  What while I muse of love and pain,
  Of love misspent, of love in vain,
  Of love that is not loved again:
  And is this all then?

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 6-10

  As long as time is,
  Love loveth. Time is but a span,
  The dalliance space of dying man:
  And is this all immortals can?
  The gain were small then.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 11-15

  Love loves for ever,
  And finds a sort of joy in pain,
  And gives with nought to take again,
  And loves too well to end in vain:
  Is the gain small then?

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• Lines 16-20

  Love laughs at "never,"
  Outlives our life, exceeds the span
  Appointed to mere mortal man:
  All which love is and does and can
  Is all in all then.

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

“Piteous my rhyme is” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Parallelism

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Diacope

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Personification

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

  Unlock with LitCharts A⁺
  • See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

“Piteous my rhyme is” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Piteous
• Muse
• Misspent
• In vain
• Love that is not loved again
• Loveth
• Span
• Dalliance space
• The gain were small then
• Nought

• • See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Piteous my rhyme is”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Piteous my rhyme is” Speaker

“Piteous my rhyme is” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Piteous my rhyme is”

More “Piteous my rhyme is” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem in Context — Take a look at "Time Flies," Rossetti's collection of daily devotional reflections, to see how this poem fits into Rossetti's wider religious project in the book.

  • Rossetti's Religion — Read an article describing how Christina Rossetti's Anglo-Catholicism inspired her poetry.

  • More on Rossetti — Visit the Victorian Web to find a wealth of information on Rossetti.

  • A Biography of Rossetti — Read the Poetry Foundation's short biography to learn more about Rossetti's life.

  • Portraits of Rossetti — See some images of Rossetti via London's National Portrait Gallery.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

  • A Birthday

  • An Apple Gathering

  • At Home

  • Babylon the Great

  • Cousin Kate

  • Echo

  • From the Antique

  • Good Friday

  • In an Artist's Studio

  • In the Round Tower at Jhansi, June 8, 1857 (Indian Mutiny)

  • Maude Clare

  • No, Thank You, John

  • Remember

  • Shut Out

  • Sister Maude

  • Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde

  • Some ladies dress in muslin full and white

  • Song (When I am dead, my dearest)

  • Twice

  • Up-Hill

  • Winter: My Secret