Death Theme in William Wordsworth’s Poem “ A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” and Christina Rossetti’s “When I’m Dead My Dearest”

• Main Author: Nur Ardianti
• Format: Theses and Dissertations NonPeerReviewed
• Language: English; English; English; English; English; English; English; English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: P Language and Literature; PR83 English literature
• Online Access: https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/1/1.%20HALAMAN%20JUDUL.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/2/2.%20DAFTAR%20ISI.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/3/3.%20ABSTRAK.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/4/4.%20BAB%20I%20PENDAHULUAN.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/5/5.%20BAB%20II%20TINJAUA%20PUSTAKA.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/6/6.%20BAB%20III%20HASIL%20DAN%20ANALISA.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/7/7.%20BAB%20IV%20KESIMPULAN.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/8/8.%20DAFTAR%20PUSTAKA.pdf; https://repository.unair.ac.id/117493/; http://www.lib.unair.ac.id
• Institution: Universitas Airlangga

Death is something very natural and happens in real life. Although there are many studies on death but it is still being a mystery because people don’t know how death comes and what is going to happen after death. There are many authors who brought out death theme in their works. William Wordsworth and Christina Rossetti are two poets whose poems have death theme. In this study, the writer wants to find the significance of the idea of death which occurs in William Wordsworth’s poem “A slumber did My spirit Seal” and in Christina Rossetti’s “When I’m Dead My Dearest”. In analyzing these two poems the writer uses New Criticism focusing on literary devices such as figurative language, imagery and symbol to understand the idea and the meaning of death according to both poets. Figurative language, symbol and imagery can be analyzed trough the language that the poets use in their poems. By, analyzing the poem line by line or even word by word, the writer will find the meaning of the poem and figurative language used by the poets. After analyzing these two poems the writer will get deep understanding on the theme of death that was intended by Wordsworth and Rossetti in order to support the meaning of death from both poets. From the meaning of death theme the writer will compare the theme of both poems to find the differences and similarities between both poems. The result of this thesis reveals that the writer finds the significance meaning of death in William Wordsworth’s poem that refer to the physical condition of the dead body of someone who looses her five sense when she died . While in Christina Rossetti’s poem the meaning of death refers to the emotion of the dead person and the relatives. Rossetti tells in her poem that death is not something to be mourned.