1. Title – makes it clear Rossetti is employing a speaker – different interpretations – ‘she said’
Line 1 – weary – connotations – repetition
B consonance in line 2 – heavy – exhausted –better than any being were not
I wish and I wish – stresses
Grain of dust – drop of water – insignificant – unnoticeable
World wag on – unserious -
Blossoms bloom cherries ripen wild bees hum – natural imagery - universal understanding – relevance
None foregrounded
Less stressed – negative language – sense of insignificance
Nothing
All the rest – isolation
W alliteration liquid – softly – not strident -

2. In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear
AO1 Content – what is actually happening
The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker.
AO1
Literary Terminology
AO2and quote
The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era,
AO2 Effect on reader linked back to content
a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear
through the pronoun ‘she said’
helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration.

3. The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.

4. AO1- Organise your response.
The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.
AO1- Organise your response.
These signposts help the examiner see you moving through the poem in a logical way.

5. The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.
Making it very clear that Rossetti is the poet and has made the authorial choices. Has a tentative stab at message and purpose of the poem.

6. The answer is hinged in content – what is happening.
The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.

7. The answer is hinged in content – what is happening.
The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.
The answer is hinged in content – what is happening.
Note how quotes have been embedded to illustrate content – not simply to analyse technique

8. Wide range of terminology
The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjective suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with liquid alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.

9. The title ‘From the Antique’ implies immediately that Rossetti has employed an unusual speaker. The adjectivial noun ‘antique’ could suggest something old, beautiful but possibly useless and irrelevant and out of the place in the modern era, a sentiment which is echoed several times during the poem as Rossetti explores the role of women. Perhaps Rossetti wants to imply that this perception of women as fragile and lacking influence in the modern world is ‘antique’ in itself.
In the first line the speaker’s gender is made clear through the pronoun ‘she said’ helping the reader to understand clearly that it is a woman who views her life as ‘weary’. This adjectives suggests a tiredness borne of boredom and tedium rather than exhaustion and implies that for the speaker her existence is one of frustration. This is echoed the description of ‘a woman’s lot’ as ‘doubly blank’. The heavy consonance of the ‘b’ reflects the weariness already suggested and the metaphor itself implies the speaker feels empty or void, perhaps both seen as, and seeing herself as pointless. Because of this, the speaker makes the plea ‘I wish and I wish I were a man’. The syndetic structure seems awkward, making the repetition more obvious and perhaps thus more desperate, emphasised by the alliteration and end focus on ‘man’, her ultimate goal.
Later in the poem Rossetti compares the speaker’s existence to ‘not so much as a grain of dust’ or ‘drop of water from pole to pole’, using hyperbolic natural imagery to emphasise her sense of insignificance. Just as a grain of dust or drop of water goes unnoticed, so, the speaker feels, does she. In fact, she is ‘not so much’ as these minute objects. Due to this, it is the speaker’s belief that if she ‘were not’ to exist, the world would ‘wag on’ the same. The verb ‘wag’ is unusual – it clearly has connotations of instinctive animal behaviour, a gesture that happens naturally to imply happiness. Perhaps therefore, Rossetti claims that if the speaker were to die, none would notice, instead carrying on instinctively satisfied. It is also quite a childish, simple verb, perhaps implying a criticism of an unthinking, overly simple world which does not challenge the irrelevance of women’s roles in society.
This bitterness is continued into the final stanza where she states ‘None would miss me’ and ‘less would care or weep’ were she ‘not’. The lexical field of absence conveys a sense of her emptiness, perhaps echoing her role as an ‘antique’, holding nothing and out of place.
She complains that in her absence the ‘blossoms [would] bloom’ and the ‘cherries [would] ripen’. This natural imagery has connotations of fertility and could perhaps imply that the speaker feels her only significant role is to bear children, and that without this she would be ‘nothing’ and the ‘world would wake and weary and fall asleep’.
The poem ends with alliteration of the w sound and the repetition of ‘weary’ from the first line which gives the poem a cyclical feel, perhaps evoking the repetitious nature of the speaker’s existence. The bitterness and frustration about her invisibility and insignificance which had flooded the poem is clear as she condemns ‘all the rest’ for failing to notice her, her dissatisfaction and her demise.
Examples of really probing the quote for subtext – and emphasis on ‘perhaps’

10. Recommended Technique
Read and highlight 5-6 quotes linked to the question that cover the whole poem
If possible, start with the title and explore a variety of interpretations
Use ‘speaker’ – not Rossetti – for the voice
It IS Rossetti who uses the techniques however – the speaker does not ‘use a simile’
Track through the six quotes in the order they appear in the poem, although if a word/concept/idea/image is repeated later on try to group the ideas together
Do not forget WHAT is actually happening/being described in the poem – it is tempting to get straight into terminology and analysis et.c but so easy to lose track of MEANING
Try to draw at least two pieces of analysis/terminology from each quote
Don’t rely on verbs and adjectives – look for positioning of words on the line (foregrounding and end focus) and aural imagery
Try for a catchy final sentence to sum up the ‘message’

11. Your turn:
How are gender roles presented in ‘In an Artist’s Studio?’