nother line,
“Come in the speaking silence of a dream.”
This shows her strong wish. She wants the beloved to come, even in silence. She wants a sign. She wants a moment. She wants any way to feel the beloved again. Her longing grows stronger because silence makes her heart more empty.
Remembering the Beloved’s Beauty: The speaker remembers the beloved’s face with great love. She says,
“Soft rounded cheeks and eyes as bright
As sunlight.”
These soft pictures show how lovely the beloved was. The speaker still holds these memories close. The memories return again and again. They make her happy for a moment. But they also hurt her. She knows these pictures belong to the past. She knows she cannot see this beauty again in real life. Memory becomes a painful gift. The beauty of the beloved makes her longing even deeper.
Dreams as a Place to Meet Again: Rossetti shows longing strongly through dreams. The speaker says dreams are,
“Too sweet, too bitter sweet.”
In dreams, the beloved comes back. In dreams, the beloved looks alive again. The speaker feels joy when the dream begins. But when she wakes up, the joy breaks. She feels the loss again. She says waking from such a dream should feel like “Paradise.” But it does not. Dreams give her a brief reunion. Dreams also remind her of the separation. Dreams become the only place where she can meet her beloved. So she waits for dreams. She desires dreams. She depends on dreams.
Feeling Lifeless Without the Beloved: The speaker feels empty without the beloved. She says she will live again only if her beloved comes in dreams. She says,
“Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live.”
This shows her life has lost meaning. She feels cold. She feels weak. She feels alone. She feels lifeless. She says she feels cold and lifeless. This does not mean she is dead. It means her heart feels dead without love. Her longing is so strong that only the beloved’s presence can bring life back into her heart.
Wishing for the Old Closeness Again: The speaker wants the old love again. She asks the beloved to come close. She says,
“Pulse for pulse, breath for breath.”
She wants to feel the beloved the same way as before. She wishes to hear a soft voice again. She asks the beloved to speak softly and come close. These simple wishes show her deep desire to return to old moments. She longs for the closeness, the warmth, the soft touch, and the quiet voice. She knows reality cannot give these things back. But her heart still asks for them.
In the end, the poem shows that lost love never fully leaves the heart. The beloved is gone, but the longing stays. Memory and dreams keep the love alive, like an echo that refuses to fade.
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