Damn You, Dad

Rossetti's "After Death" to me is a poem that shows she struggled to win over some form of affection with a male figure in her life. After looking over her corpse, the only actions the man does is say, "Poor child, poor child", he didn't kiss her, didn't tidy her up so as to make her more presentable, or even "...ruffle the smooth pillows" for her head. However, nor did she care. The poem states that the man did not love her while she was alive, but showed remorse and pity for her when she died.

"After Death" could be about her father. After a lifetime of receiving no love or form of affection, seeing him cry on her deathbed proved to her that there actually was an emotional connection. He also called her child, something my parents call me on occasion. She finally saw that the old man did have a warmth in his heart, which is what mostly all sons and daughters want, for their parents to love them.