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The Complete Poetical Works Of Dante Gabriel Rossetti
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
676 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2003
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About the author
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
576 books99 followersBritish poet and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, brother of Christina Georgina Rossetti, founded the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, a society, in England in 1848 to advance the style and spirit of Italian painting before Raphael (Raffaelo Sanzio); his known portraits and his vividly detailed, mystic poems, include "The Blessed Damozel" (1850).
This illustrator and translator with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais later mainly inspired and influenced a second generation of artists and writers, most notably William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. His work also influenced the Symbolists, a group of chiefly French writers and artists, who of the late 1800s rejected realism and used symbols to evoke ideas and emotions. He served as a major precursor of Aestheticism, an artistic and intellectual movement or the doctrine, originating in Britain in the late 19th century, that from beauty, the basic principle, derives all other, especially moral, principles.
This illustrator and translator with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais later mainly inspired and influenced a second generation of artists and writers, most notably William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. His work also influenced the Symbolists, a group of chiefly French writers and artists, who of the late 1800s rejected realism and used symbols to evoke ideas and emotions. He served as a major precursor of Aestheticism, an artistic and intellectual movement or the doctrine, originating in Britain in the late 19th century, that from beauty, the basic principle, derives all other, especially moral, principles.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 8, 2012
I HAVE been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
You have been mine before,—
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow’s soar
Your neck turn’d so,
Some veil did fall,—I knew it all of yore.
Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time’s eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore
In death’s despite,
And day and night yield one delight once more?
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.
You have been mine before,—
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow’s soar
Your neck turn’d so,
Some veil did fall,—I knew it all of yore.
Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time’s eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore
In death’s despite,
And day and night yield one delight once more?
November 3, 2024
I have not read this entire anthology, but the works included in it that I have read are listed and rated below:
“Ardour and Memory” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker explains that beauty resurfaces amidst darkness through memory. Rating: 1/5
“Autumn Idleness” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker describes the frosty end of November in which he wanders, unsure what he should do. Rating: 1/5
“Barren Spring” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker notes the coming of spring, but his mood does not match the weather’s cheerfulness. Rating: 0.5/5
“The Blessed Damozel”: This poem tells of two lovers who have been separated by the death. The woman, the “blessed damozel,” has died and left her lover alive without her. In this poem, the lovers are able to communicate, as the young woman is conflicted about fully entering into the afterlife without her love and has not yet done so. Rating: 2/5
“Body’s Beauty” or “Lady Lilith” or “Lilith” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker addresses Lilith, who, according to legend, was Adam’s first wife and who has the power to ensnare men with her golden hair. Rating: 0.5/5
“The One Hope” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker posits that hope is the one thing left after all else is gone. Rating: 3/5
“The Sea-Limits” (not in HC): A short poem that highlights the oneness of all things. Rating: 1.5/5
“Sudden Light”: A short poem that expresses the feeling of having the same experiences once before. Rating: 2/5
“A Superscription” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): A speaker that refers to itself as “Might-Have-Been” talks to an audience of one about love that could have been. Rating: 1/5
“Willowwood” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker describes a dreamlike happening in which he is spoken to by Love personified and gets to kiss his deceased wife again. Rating: 2/5
“The Woodspurge”: The speaker recounts his experience of simple observation amidst grief. Rating: 3.5/5
“Ardour and Memory” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker explains that beauty resurfaces amidst darkness through memory. Rating: 1/5
“Autumn Idleness” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker describes the frosty end of November in which he wanders, unsure what he should do. Rating: 1/5
“Barren Spring” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker notes the coming of spring, but his mood does not match the weather’s cheerfulness. Rating: 0.5/5
“The Blessed Damozel”: This poem tells of two lovers who have been separated by the death. The woman, the “blessed damozel,” has died and left her lover alive without her. In this poem, the lovers are able to communicate, as the young woman is conflicted about fully entering into the afterlife without her love and has not yet done so. Rating: 2/5
“Body’s Beauty” or “Lady Lilith” or “Lilith” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker addresses Lilith, who, according to legend, was Adam’s first wife and who has the power to ensnare men with her golden hair. Rating: 0.5/5
“The One Hope” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker posits that hope is the one thing left after all else is gone. Rating: 3/5
“The Sea-Limits” (not in HC): A short poem that highlights the oneness of all things. Rating: 1.5/5
“Sudden Light”: A short poem that expresses the feeling of having the same experiences once before. Rating: 2/5
“A Superscription” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): A speaker that refers to itself as “Might-Have-Been” talks to an audience of one about love that could have been. Rating: 1/5
“Willowwood” (from “The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence”): The speaker describes a dreamlike happening in which he is spoken to by Love personified and gets to kiss his deceased wife again. Rating: 2/5
“The Woodspurge”: The speaker recounts his experience of simple observation amidst grief. Rating: 3.5/5
August 31, 2025
not bad, but still uncomfortable. i feel like his sister’s poem is almost on the other side of the same coin for all his works. dante depicts a true sense of wonder and majesty at the manifestations of male desire, whilst christina deliberates upon the cost being a muse’s autonomy.
May 24, 2022
Not all the poems hold up but some of his translations (the three Villon ones, featuring the famous ‘where are the snows of yesteryear?’ refrain , for example) are incredible.
December 22, 2009
My favorite poem is "The Blessed Damozel" - so beautiful and amazing. Love the Rossettis - highley recommended!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews