Christina Rossetti

I admire Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) as a poet. Her depth of feeling, keen insights, and spiritual sensitivities win my admiration. While she could be introspective and overly serious, she periodically displayed a lighthearted, playful mood, as evidenced in turning down a potential marriage suitor with her forthright poem— “No, Thank You, John.” Most of all, I respect her tenacity to hold up under trying circumstances. In her early teenage years, she experienced significant heart problems and respiratory difficulties, perhaps the early warning signs of tuberculosis, the illness that cut short her father’s life. She suffered a nervous breakdown at the tender age of fourteen. In her early forties, she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which nearly claimed her life. While she eventually recovered, the illness took a heavy toll on her. Her brother Dante said it left her “looking suddenly ten years older.” Later in life, she contracted breast cancer, which ultimately killed her. There was a decided shift in her poetry in midcareer, as she tried to make sense as a believer of her long-term health challenges. Recent studies have confirmed the complex connection between chronic illness and depression. In 1874, she published the first of six devotional works, Annus Domini, that provided a Scripture text and prayer for every day of the year. On day thirty-eight, she cited Psalm 8.1, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,” and accompanied it with the following prayer. She may have been doubtful about herself (aren’t we all!) but firm in faith: