Christina Rossetti

(1830-1894) British writer. Christina Rossetti was part of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and famous for "Goblin Market," "A Birthday," "When I Am Dead," and "Up-Hill." Read more about the life and works of Christina Rossetti.

Christina Rossetti was born in London, England on December 5, 1830. Her father was Gabriele Rossetti, a professor of Italian at King's College until his blindness caused him to resign in 1845. Her mother was Frances Polidori, a former governess.

Rossetti once said, "I, too, had a very passionate temper. On one occasion, being rebuked by my dear Mother for some fault, I seized upon a pair of scissors, and ripped up my arm to vent my wrath."

Christina Rossetti developed cancer in 1891. She died in London, England on December 29, 1894.

Christina Rossetti was educated at home. Her father was a poet, and her brothers were writers as well.

Christina Rossetti never married. She apparently loved Charles Cayley, but rejected him in 1866. According to William Rossetti, "she enquired into his creed and found he was not a Christian."

"My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit..."
- "A Birthday"

"We shall escape the uphill by never turning back."
- "Amor Mundi"

"Why does the sea moan evermore?
Shut out from heaven it makes its moan...
- "By the Sea"

"Sleep that no pain shall wake,
Night that no morn shall break..."
- "Dream-Land"

"I have a room whereinto no one enters
Save I myself alone..."
- "Memory"