Lines 1-2

The opening two lines of Rossetti's sonnet "Remember" introduce the idea of separation, but whether the speaker's eminent departure is because she has chosen to leave her lover or because she is dying is not immediately clear. As the poem unfolds, the reader understands that death will divide the couple, and the initial hint of that is the phrase "silent land" to describe the place the speaker is going. The words seem to define a cemetery or individual grave more than heaven, and "silent," in particular, implies a dormant state—an existence and a place that are neither joyous nor painful, pleasant nor sad. The opening lines also portray the speaker's desire to be remembered, and she requests her lover to do just that. This request will become more significant at the end of the poem when the dying woman appears to do an about-face with...