Analysis of “Uphill” by Christina Rossetti Essay

Uphill by christina Rossetti is an allegory about life and oddment. Rossetti is considered unrivalled of the finest ghostly poets of her time and her many spiritual beliefs argon conveyed in her poem Uphill. H.B. de Groot said, Undeniably, her strong lyric gifts are often held in check by her moral and theological scruples (Groot). The dialogue style Rossetti uses mimics the parables told by Jesus in The Bible. In Overview of Christina (Georgina) Rossetti one author stated that during her adult life, Rossetti turned down deuce marriage proposals, due to her strong religious convictions. Instead of marrying, she used her convictions to script eloquent poetry that reaffirms assurance for the faithful and provides faith for the hopeless. Rossettis use of metaphors, symbols, and biblical allusions in Uphill conveys the idea of life and death and represents the difficult journey to redemption and the promise of deathless life in heaven.In Uphill, Rossetti uses metaphors to invite the contributor to draw comparisons between ones journey through life, death, and eternal rest. The first question and firmness the loudspeaker mentions is a metaphor to depict the road being traveled, conveying that it is difficult and long, much wish life Does the road wind up-hill all the way?/Yes, to the very end (Rossetti 1-2). In draw offs five and 7 the speaker develops the metaphor of night and darkness to mean death But is in that location for the night a resting- keep down forward?/May not the darkness hide it from my face (5/7)? The speaker seems doubtful and unsure about the move of death and provokes the speaker to ask questions about the after-life. Assurance of such a place is found in line eight when the inn is used as a metaphor to describe heave, a place that You cannot cast (8).The author uses symbols to promote the reader by evoking a deeper subconscious meaning of ones uphill trek towards heaven. The title of the poem Uphill serves as a symbol for the difficulties encountered along the speakers journey. In lines six and eight the words _roof_ and _inn_ are symbols for the security felt, when the slow dark hours begin./You cannot miss that inn (6/8). Rossetti uses the word _bed_ in lines fifteen and sixteen torepresent the final resting place for those seeking eternal life in heaven Will there be beds for me and all who seek?/Yea, beds for all who come (15-16). Beds invoke feelings of comfort and warmth and peace. The speaker hopes to find the same comfort and peace in heaven with an eternal place to sleep.The biblical allusions Rossetti uses in the poem help the reader understand what happens after death. Matthew 714 explains that the path to salvation provide be difficult and long and is referenced in line three when the speaker asks how long the days journey will take But dwarfish is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and plainly a few find it (_New International Version_, Matthew. 7.14). In the Bible, Christ teaches that there are two ways right and wrong, good and evil. The road to the narrow gate is not only constricted, but also uphill. It is a struggle and often not the easy way, which is why only few endure it. But it is the only path that will lead you to eternal life. All opposite ways may be easier, but lead to destruction. In lines eleven and twelve, the speaker receives assurance that by knocking, the doors will be open at the end of the journey, a Biblical allusion to Matthew 77.This verse states that if one asks, seeks, and knocks that the door will be open Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7.7). In John 142 Jesus comforts his twelve disciples by saying There is more than enough path in my Fathers home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to curry a place for you? When everythi ng is ready, I will come get you, so that you will always be with me where I am (John 14.2). This verse serves as a point of reference to lines fifteen and sixteen in the poem Will there be beds for me and all who seek?/Yea, beds for all who come (15-16). Christians believe that there is a dwelling-place in which devout believing souls would abide forever. Believers gain comfort in knowing that He has already prepared such a special place that is vast and sufficient in style for all his people.Rossettis poem is a beautiful illustration of ones journey through life as illustrated by the questions the speaker asks throughout the poem. In thebeginning the speaker is anxious about the journey that lies frontwards and asks Does the road wind up-hill all the way (1), but by the end of the poem the speaker is calm and assured about the final resting place Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak (13)? Rossetti links ones journey to life, death, and eternity by using metaphors througho ut the text. Symbols are layered throughout the text to assist the reader with identifying heaven. Rossettis use of Biblical allusions allow the reader to grasps what eternity will be comparable for those that believe and stay the course of the _uphill_ journey. The difficult life and death decisions made along the journey towards salvation and eternity in heaven are made evident throughout the poem with the use of metaphors, symbols, and Biblical allusions.Works CitedChristina Rossetti. _Contemporary Authors Online_. Detroit Gale, 2006. _Literature Resource__Center_. Web. 19 Mar. 2014._English Standard Version_. Bible Gateway. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.Rossetti, Christina. Uphill. _Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing_. Seventh Edition. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. Boston Pearson, 2013.