Page 90 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“A Birthday”
by Christina Rossetti, page 71

Vocabulary
halcyon – calm and peaceful
dais – table of honor
vair – fur
fleurs-de-lys – an iris

1. What is the relationship between the first stanza (with its similes) and the second stanza?

The first stanza contains a number of similes that compare the joy and love of the speaker’s
heart to natural occurrences and places. The second stanza explains why her heart feels
that way.

2. What kinds of images does Rossetti use in the last stanza? What do the images have in
common? Why do you think she chose these images?

The speaker chooses images of physical worth that signify wealth and abundance. She
names silk and down, purple dies, doves, pomegranates, peacocks, gold and silver grapes,
and fleur-de-lys. She may have chosen these images to show the reader how valuable her
love is to her, or how wealthy in spirit she feels because she found it.

3. The last few lines tell the reader that the speaker feels it is “the birthday of my life”
because she has found love. What do you think is meant by such a statement?

Answers may vary. Example: The speaker may feel that when she found her love, she
started her life over again, or perhaps just began living. It is a figurative birthday for a
new beginning.

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