Nature in Rossetti's poems

-Discuss how Rossetti writes about nature.

• Nature in "Shut Out" seems to be a metaphor for the narrator's love.
• Aspects of nature such as "violet bed" and it's comparison to other natural imagery seems to be used symbollically to show her new love is not as special, deep or meaningful as the previous.
• The use of nature in "Winter: My Secret" seems to be a metaphor for the narrator's feelings and mood. There is a mournful tone to the narrator's voice when focusing on nature as a symbol for lost love.

Notes on both poems:

Winter: My Secret:- Aggressive side of nature, (Ferocious and harrowing)
                                 Winter is cold and unforgiving,
                                 Nature is used as an obstacle.
                                
Shut Out:- Not getting into heaven (symbolic),
                  Nature has healing properties.


Every essay has a topic sentance that tells what I think of the poem linked to the question.
-Quotation.
-Highlight how the language is used in the quotation.


Shut Out paragraph: Rossetti's narrator seems to believe that nature has healing properties as they ask for "some buds" to cheer their "outcast state". This part of the poem is in dialogue which makes the reader feel more empathy for the narrator because they have memorised the upsetting conversation they had and can recite it. Suggesting that it is the only thing on their mind and has deeply troubled them.

Winter: My Secret paragraph:  Aspects of nature in "Winter: My Secret" are portrayed as an obstacle as the narrator is unable to tell her secret "today" because "it froze, and blows and snows". These signs of winter are joined in an internal rhyme which emphasises the fragility and reserved nature of the narrator during this season.