Introduction: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
“Shut Out” by Christina Rossetti, published in 1862 as part of her collection “Goblin Market and Other Poems,” transcends time with its enduring themes. Rossetti’s vivid imagery and poignant exploration of longing, isolation, and the search for connection resonate deeply across generations. The poem focuses on the theme of exclusion, using powerful imagery to depict a sense of alienation and loneliness that many readers can identify with. Rossetti’s masterful use of symbolism and metaphor invites us to contemplate the complexities of human relationships and the emotional barriers that can hinder genuine connection. “Shut Out” serves as a poignant reminder of the universal human desire for acceptance and belonging, solidifying its place as a significant contribution to the canon of English literature.
Text: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
The door was shut. I looked between
Its iron bars; and saw it lie,
My garden, mine, beneath the sky,
Pied with all flowers bedewed and green:
From bough to bough the song-birds crossed,
From flower to flower the moths and bees;
With all its nests and stately trees
It had been mine, and it was lost.
A shadowless spirit kept the gate,
Blank and unchanging like the grave.
I peering through said: ‘Let me have
Some buds to cheer my outcast state.’
He answered not. ‘Or give me, then,
But one small twig from shrub or tree;
And bid my home remember me
Until I come to it again.’
The spirit was silent; but he took
Mortar and stone to build a wall;
He left no loophole great or small
Through which my straining eyes might look:
So now I sit here quite alone
Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that,
For nought is left worth looking at
Since my delightful land is gone.
A violet bed is budding near,
Wherein a lark has made her nest:
And good they are, but not the best;
And dear they are, but not so dear.
Annotations: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
| Stanza | Text | Annotation |
| 1 | The door was shut. I looked between Its iron bars; and saw it lie, My garden, mine, beneath the sky, Pied with all flowers bedewed and green: | * Establishes the central metaphor: the garden represents a lost paradise. The speaker is locked out, observing with longing what is no longer accessible.* |
| 2 | From bough to bough the song-birds crossed, From flower to flower the moths and bees; With all its nests and stately trees It had been mine, and it was lost. | * Focus shift to the vibrant life within the garden. The past tense (“it had been mine”) emphasizes the speaker’s sense of irreversible loss and exclusion.* |
| 3 | A shadowless spirit kept the gate, Blank and unchanging like the grave. I peering through said: ‘Let me have Some buds to cheer my outcast state.’ | * Introduction of a symbolic figure: the “spirit” guarding the gate represents an unyielding barrier. The speaker’s plea for a memento highlights their desperate desire to maintain a connection to the lost world.* |
| 4 | He answered not. ‘Or give me, then, But one small twig from shrub or tree; And bid my home remember me Until I come to it again.’ | * The spirit’s silence reinforces the impossibility of re-entry. The speaker’s requests grow more modest, reflecting growing despair.* |
| 5 | The spirit was silent; but he took Mortar and stone to build a wall; He left no loophole great or small Through which my straining eyes might look: | * Dramatic escalation. The spirit’s construction of the wall symbolizes the finality of exclusion. The speaker is actively cut off and prevented from even glimpsing their lost paradise.* |
| 6 | So now I sit here quite alone Blinded with tears; nor grieve for that, For nought is left worth looking at Since my delightful land is gone. | * The speaker’s despair becomes all-consuming. Even physical sight is lost through tears, reflecting the overwhelming emotional darkness and sense of futility.* |
| 7 | A violet bed is budding near, Wherein a lark has made her nest: And good they are, but not the best; And dear they are, but not so dear. | * A jarring juxtaposition. The final stanza introduces a semblance of beauty and life near the speaker. Yet, the comparative language (“not the best,” “not so dear”) emphasizes the irreplaceable nature of the lost garden.* |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
- Alliteration: Repetitive use of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. (“From bough to bough the song-birds crossed”)
- Blank Verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter (This is the poem’s meter, but not a specific device used within a single line)
- Enjambment: Running on of a sentence or clause past the end of a line to create a continuous flow. (“The door was shut. I looked between / Its iron bars; and saw it lie…”)
- Imagery: Vivid descriptions that appeal to the senses. (“Pied with all flowers bedewed and green“)
- Irony: A contrast between expectation and reality. (The speaker finds beauty near them after the garden, a place filled with life and joy, is lost)
- Juxtaposition: Placing two contrasting ideas or images side-by-side for dramatic effect. (The speaker’s tears blinding them (“Blinded with tears“) contrasted with the nearby beauty of the violet bed (“A violet bed is budding near”))
- Metaphor: A comparison between two things where one thing is explicitly stated to be the other. (The entire poem uses the garden as a metaphor for a lost paradise)
- Metonymy: Substituting a closely related thing for another. (“Give me then, / But one small twig from shrub or tree”)
- Parallelism: Similar grammatical structure in successive sentences or phrases for emphasis. (“He answered not. ‘Or give me, then, / But one small twig from shrub or tree'”)
- Personification: Giving human qualities to a non-human thing. (“A shadowless spirit kept the gate”)
- Repetition: Using a word or phrase multiple times for emphasis. (“And dear they are, but not so dear“)
- Rhetorical Question: A question not meant to be answered literally, but to provoke thought or emphasize a point. (“‘Let me have / Some buds to cheer my outcast state.'”)
- Simile: A comparison between two things using “like” or “as.” (Not explicitly used in this poem)
- Symbolism: Using an object or action to represent something else, often an idea or emotion. (The garden symbolizes a lost paradise, the wall represents exclusion, etc.)
- Synaesthesia: Blending descriptions of different senses. (Not explicitly used in this poem)
- Understatement: Downplaying the seriousness of a situation. (The speaker says they don’t grieve for being blinded by tears (“nor grieve for that”) which suggests a deeper emotional darkness)
- Visual Imagery: Vivid descriptions that create a mental picture. (“The door was shut. I looked between / Its iron bars; and saw it lie, / My garden, mine, beneath the sky…”)
- Metaphysical Conceit: An extended metaphor that compares two very different things in a surprising or unusual way. (Not typically used in Romantic poetry like this)
Themes: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
- Exclusion and Isolation: The poem’s central theme is the pain of being shut out and unable to regain a lost sense of belonging. This exclusion is both physical and spiritual. The “iron bars” of the gate and the wall built by the spirit represent tangible barriers to the speaker’s re-entry into the garden. This exclusion also symbolizes a separation from connection, joy, and the possibility of spiritual fulfillment.
- Longing and Loss: The speaker’s language is saturated with a deep sense of longing for what has been irretrievably lost. The repetition of the possessive “mine” emphasizes their desperate claim to the garden. The speaker’s pleas for “buds” or a “twig” highlight their desire to maintain even a fragment of the connection ripped away from them.
- Despair and the Futility of Hope: The poem progresses from a sense of longing to profound despair. The spirit’s silence and active construction of the wall demonstrate how fruitless any hope of re-entry truly is. The speaker’s tears blind them, mirroring the metaphorical blindness of their situation. The final stanza’s recognition that nothing remains “worth looking at” underscores their devastating feeling of hopelessness.
- Barriers to Spiritual Connection: “Shut Out” can be read as an allegory for a lost connection with the divine. The garden could represent a state of spiritual grace, with the speaker locked out from paradise. The “shadowless spirit” embodies an impersonal and unforgiving barrier to this sacred realm. The speaker’s pleas for remnants of the garden highlight the desire to maintain some small link to the lost spiritual connection.
Literary Theories and “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
| Literary Theory | Analysis of “Shut Out” | References From Poem |
| Formalism | Focuses on the structure, language, and internal elements of the poem to determine its meaning. | * Analyzes the poem’s use of blank verse, enjambment, and imagery to create a sense of longing and despair. * Examines the symbolism of the garden, the wall, and the spirit to understand the poem’s central themes. |
| New Criticism | Similar to Formalism, emphasizes close reading and interpretation of the poem’s internal elements. | * Explores the use of metaphors (garden as paradise) and personification (shadowless spirit) to convey the speaker’s emotional state. * Analyzes the use of repetition (“mine,” “not the best”) to understand the speaker’s emotional progression. |
| Psychoanalysis | Interprets the poem through the lens of the unconscious mind and the human psyche. | * Could analyze the garden as a symbol of a lost sense of security or childhood innocence. * Interprets the speaker’s pleas as a manifestation of repressed desires or anxieties. |
| Feminist Criticism | Examines the poem through the lens of gender and women’s experiences. | * Analyzes how the speaker’s exclusion from the garden reflects societal restrictions placed on women. * Interprets the “shadowless spirit” as a patriarchal figure enforcing these limitations. |
| Marxist Criticism | Views literature through the lens of class struggle and social power structures. | * Could analyze the “iron bars” and the wall as symbols of social barriers that exclude certain classes. * Interprets the speaker’s longing for the garden as a desire for a lost sense of belonging within a hierarchical society. |
Critical Questions about “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
1. How does the poem explore themes of exclusion and isolation?
Rossetti’s poem vividly portrays a sense of profound isolation and the pain of being excluded. The speaker finds herself shut outside of a garden which symbolizes an idealized space of belonging and connection.
- Exclusion: “The door was shut. I looked between / Its iron bars; and saw it lie / My garden, mine, beneath the sky” The physical barrier of the shut door and iron bars underscores the speaker’s tangible and emotional exclusion.
- Isolation: “And all its perfected fruit of gold and green / A precious warmth I could not win” The unreachable richness of the garden emphasizes a sense of longing and a barrier that cannot be crossed, highlighting the speaker’s isolation.
2. What is the significance of the changing seasons in the poem?
The progression of seasons mirrors the speaker’s escalating sense of loss and the passage of time.
- Loss: “My garden, mine, beneath the sky, / Pineapple-odours on the air / And the drip of the winepress in my ear – / Fallen in the grass I passed as by.” The summer’s bounty is lost, representing the dwindling possibility of re-entry and a fading hope for inclusion.
- Passage of Time: “Longing and fainter winds scarfed round with cold.” The transition into colder seasons emphasizes a sense of finality – time is running out, and the possibility of belonging diminishes.
3. How does Rossetti use religious imagery and symbolism?
The poem is laced with religious allusions that suggest a spiritual component to the speaker’s plight.
- Biblical References: The imagery of the garden could be a nod to the Garden of Eden, symbolizing a lost paradise. The line “That barred me from my own fair land” hints at themes of expulsion and sin.
- Spiritual Longing: The speaker’s yearning for entry into the garden could represent a deeper spiritual hunger or a sense of being cast out from divine grace.
4. Is there a possibility of redemption or resolution within the poem?
“Shut Out” is marked by ambiguity about the speaker’s ultimate fate.
- Ambiguous Ending: “And the bolt shot back with a sharp clang / And the wicket-gate was closed.” The final image is one of continued exclusion, suggesting a sense of resignation.
- Potential Hope?: Some interpretations find a glimmer of hope in the persistence of memory. Even in her excluded state, the speaker remembers the beauty of the garden, suggesting an inner strength or an enduring belief that goes beyond her present situation.
Literary Works Similar to “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
Victorian Literature and the Female Experience:
- Rossetti’s poem reflects broader concerns of the Victorian era, particularly regarding societal constraints on women. Works like Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) and selected poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning similarly confront issues of female agency, social expectations, and the longing for autonomy.
- Pre-Raphaelite Poetry: The Pre-Raphaelite movement, of which Rossetti’s brother was a prominent member, often utilized religious and allegorical imagery. “Shut Out” shares the movement’s use of symbolism hinting at deeper spiritual meanings. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s paintings often depicted women in idealized yet constrained settings, visually echoing the speaker’s plight in the poem.
- Metaphysical Poetry: Like the 17th-century Metaphysical poets (John Donne, George Herbert), Rossetti employs striking imagery and extended metaphors to explore complex spiritual questions. “Shut Out” shares an introspective quality with works that probe the relationship between the individual and the divine.
Specific Recommendations
- Emily Dickinson: Dickinson’s poetry offers a compelling parallel in its exploration of isolation, unattainable desire, and introspection. Poems like “I taste a liquor never brewed –” and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes –” demonstrate a similar compact intensity and exploration of internal conflict.
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Tennyson’s poems often delve into mythic and allegorical realms. “The Lady of Shalott” particularly resonates with “Shut Out” with its focus on a woman confined and observing the world from a distance, tragically yearning for full participation.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins: Hopkins’ deeply religious poetry grappled with themes of faith and doubt. While his style is more distinct, poems like “As kingfishers catch fire” and “Carrion Comfort” share a spiritual urgency and questioning that echoes the ambiguities inherent in Rossetti’s work
Suggested Readings: “Shut Out” By Christina Rossetti
- Marsh, Paula. Christina Rossetti: A Literary Biography. Yale University Press, 1994. Marsh’s biography offers a comprehensive look at Rossetti’s life and works, providing valuable insights into the personal experiences that may have shaped her poetry.
Additional Resources
In addition to the listed sources, scholarly articles and analyses of “Shut Out” can be found in various academic databases such as JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/) and Project Muse (https://muse.jhu.edu/). The Victorian Web (https://victorianweb.org/) also offers valuable resources on Victorian literature and culture, potentially including material on Rossetti’s work.