Selected Poems and Translations

I have not read this entire anthology, but the works included in it that I have read are listed and rated below:

• “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
• “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
• "The Orchard Pit": The speaker describes a recurring dream in which he sees the sinister Belle Dame, who has "eyes of Death" watching some people in the orchard pit. Rating: 1/5
• “Sestina. Of the Lady Pietra degli Scrovigni”: This poem is a personification of stones and comparison of them to a lady. It was originally written by Dante Alighieri and translated by Rossetti. Rating: 2/5

• “Sudden Light”: A short poem that expresses the feeling of having the same experiences once before. Rating: 2/5
• "The Woodspurge": The speaker recounts his experience of simple observation amidst grief. Rating: 3.5/5