"The Choice, I" (A Poem)

Originally published in his 1870 Poems and reprinted in his 1881 The House of Life, Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s “The Choice” is a collection of three sonnets which explore the pursuits of human life in relation to the finality of death. While some literary scholars read the trilogy as one cohesive unit, others read each poem as a separate piece which provides its own unique perspective.[1] Here, we will conduct a hybrid of both techniques, presenting each sonnet as its own distinct entry over the next three month, but acknowledging their united nature. The first sonnet, printed below, critiques humanity’s futile quest for physical enjoyment. The second sonnet, which will be featured next month, comments on mankind’s religious asceticism. The third sonnet, which will be featured in July, completes the narrative by discussing human self-development.

Eat thou and drink; to-morrow thou shalt die.

Surely the earth, that’s wise being very old,

Needs not our help. Then loose me, love, and hold

Thy sultry hair up from my face; that I

May pour for thee this yellow wine, brim-high,

Till round the glass thy fingers glow like gold.

We’ll drown all hours: thy song, while hours are toll’d,

Shall leap, as fountains veil the changing sky.

Now kiss, and think that there are really those,

My own high-bosomed beauty, who increase

Vain gold, vain lore, and yet might choose our way!

Through many days they toil; then on a day

They die not,—never having lived,—but cease;

And round their narrow lips the mould falls close.[2]

Works Referenced

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. “The Choice, I.” The House of Life: A Sonnet Sequence. 1881. Portland, ME: Thomas B. Mosher, 1903. 74.

Rossetti, William Michael, ed. The Poems of Dante Gabriel Rossetti with Illustrations from His Own Pictures and Designs. London: Ellis and Elvey, 1904.

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[1] W. Rossetti, 237-238.

[2] D. Rossetti, 74.