SOURCE: "Christina Rossetti and the Poetry of Reticence," in Philological Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 4, Fall, 1986, pp. 495-514.

In the following essay, Hassett argues that Rossetti uses a variety of techniques to emphasize the concepts that are hinted at and alluded to in her poetry.

Christina Rossetti is a reserved poet. Against the pressure of her guardedness, her writer's impulse resolves itself into shaped stanzas, deflected understatements, and quieted rhythms. Her laconic style is the result of a deeply private dialectic between verbal evasion and aesthetic control. The paradox of Rossetti's art is that the withholding of speech is constitutive. She bends an instinct to silence, avoidance, and mute watchfulness into a distinctive style.

Not surprisingly, Rossetti's struggle into articulateness becomes her subject. Diffidence and brave reticence are treated overtly in her text. In the confrontation-scene of "Goblin Market," Rossetti contrives matters so that "Lizzie uttered not a word" (1:22). In...