Christina Georgina Rossetti, född 5 december 1830 i London, död 29 december 1894 i London, var en brittisk poet bland prerafaeliterna.

Christina Rossetti
(1830-1894)

Biografi redigera

Rossetti var syster till konstnären Dante Gabriel Rossetti och författaren William Michael Rossetti. Deras far Gabriele Rossetti var politisk flykting från Neapel och deras mor Frances Polidori var syster till Lord Byrons vän och läkare John William Polidori.

Christina Rosetti föddes i London och utbildades privat, hon var sjuklig som barn, men skrev poesi redan i tonåren. Hennes förlovning med konstnären James Collinson bröts på grund av religiösa meningsskiljaktigheter. Denna erfarenhet inspirerade henne att skriva en av sina mest populära dikter "Remember". Hon skrev sina första dikter under pseudonymen Ellen Alleyne. Många av hennes dikter var riktade till barn.

På svenska finns urvalsvolymen Trollmarknad och andra dikter (översättning Olle Thörnvall, Ellerström, 2014).

 
Christinia Georgina Rossetti
REMEMBER me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

– Christina Rossetti
 
Porträttet av Christina Rossetti, av hennes bror, Dante Gabriel Rossetti


The Milking-Maid (Mjölkpigan)

The year stood at its equinox,
And bluff the North was blowing.
A bleat of lambs came from the flocks,
Green hardy things were growing.
I met a maid with shining locks,
Where milky kine were lowing.

She wore a kerchief on her neck,
Her bare arm showed its dimple.
Her apron spread without a speck,
Her air was frank and simple.

She milked into a wooden pail,
And sang a country ditty -
An innocent fond lovers' tale,
That was not wise nor witty.

She kept in time without a beat,
As true as church-bell ringers,
Unless she tapped time with her feet,
Or squeezed it with her fingers.

I stood a minute out of sight,
Stood silent for a minute,
To eye the pail, and creamy white
The frothing milk within it.

To eye the comely milking maid,
Herself so fresh and creamy.
“Good day to you!” at last I said,
She turned her head to see me.
“Good day!” she said with lifted head,
Her eyes looked soft and dreamy.

And all the while she milked and milked
The grave cow heavy-laden.
I've seen grand ladies, plumed and silked,
But not a sweeter maiden.

But not a sweeter fresher maid
Than this in homely cotton,
Whose pleasant face and silky braid
I have not yet forgotten.

Perhaps my rose is overblown,
Not rosy or too rosy.
Perhaps in farmhouse of her own
Some husband keeps her cosy.
Where I should show a face unknown? -
Good bye, my wayside posy!

(Från dikten "The Milking-Maid" ("Mjölkpigan") av Christina Georgina Rossetti)[1]

Källor redigera

  1. ^ A Gallery of English and American Women Famous in Song (1875), J.M. Stoddart & Company, p. 205.

Externa länkar redigera