'Echo' - Imagery, symbolism and themes

Imagery and symbolism

Eyes:

The speaker asks that the lover comes back with ‘eyes as bright / As sunlight on a stream' (line 3). This image suggests both youthfulness and good, accurate vision. It also works to merge the beloved with the natural environment and convey ideas of reflection. As one's own reflection can be glimpsed in the light of a sunlit stream, the speaker suggests that it is his/her wish to catch a glimpse of his/her own image, as a kind of visual echo, in the eyes of the beloved
In the second verse, the speaker imagines that, in Paradise, souls watch those entering with ‘thirsting longing eyes' (line 10). Describing eyes as ‘thirsting' expresses the imagined need they have to catch a glimpse of a person they have missed.

The door:

The speaker imagines that ‘in Paradise', all eyes are fixed on the ‘slow door' opening and letting in souls, which hints at the potential reunion of lovers
Several of Rossetti's devotional poems, such as Despised and Rejected, use the image of the door to depict the entrance to heaven. However, in Revelation, the image of heaven that is given is one of security, rest and peace. There is no mention of the longing of the souls that are inside for those they left behind to enter ‘the slow door'. Rather, it is described as a place where pain and tears are absent (Revelation 7: 17).

Water:

The stream - In addition to alluding to ideas of reflection, the description of the brightness of the lover's eyes as ‘sunlight on a stream' suggests tranquillity, peace and movement. Just as a stream glimmers in the sun and runs towards a river or the sea, so too, does the speaker wish that his/her eyes would gleam brightly and move towards her
Tears - The speaker asks that his/her lover would come back to his/her ‘in tears'. As well as expressing sorrow, tears can express deep, heart-felt emotion. The hope that the lover would come in tears suggests anticipation that s/he would demonstrate his passion and love by reciprocating and sharing in the speaker's sorrow
Brimful - The speaker describes the souls in paradise as being ‘brimful of love'. The word brimful is usually associating with an overflow of water. By describing souls as overflowing with love, Rossetti may be drawing on the words that Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman as she drew water from a well, declaring that he himself is the Water of Life. He told her that, whereas everyone who drinks regular water will inevitably be thirsty again:

‘Those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life'. John 4:14 TNIV

Thirsting - The description of souls who are ‘brimful of love' as they meet their loved ones stands in direct contrast to the description of those who, with ‘thirsting longing eyes', await a reunion with their beloved. Rather than resting in security, those who have thirsting eyes are portrayed as restless, their eyes constantly watching for the opening of the door. Whereas physical thirst makes a person long desperately for some refreshment, Echo suggests that emotional deprivation can be equally powerful and painful.

For further associations, see Water.

Investigating imagery and symbolism

Consider the contrast between those who are ‘brimful of love' and those who are ‘thirsting'. What makes the difference between the two states?

Themes

Longing

The tone is one of longing throughout. From the first repetition of the word ‘come' to the final expression of desire that the speaker can breathe life back into the beloved, the speaker's attention is focused solely on his/her love. Longing is expressed through the repeated call to the beloved and language associated with desire. Despite displacing this feeling onto souls in paradise, it seems that it is with the fulfilment of the speaker's own ‘thirsting longing eyes' that is of greatest concern.

Echoes

The title of the poem provides a key to understanding its repetitions and some of its ambiguities. Rather than another voice echoing back the love that is expressed, the speaker finds that it is only the echoes of his/her own voice that can be detected and reminders of the past, now ‘finished years' (line 6). The dim echoes of the lover have been lost. This reflects in part the classical myth about Echo.

In addition to repeating words and exploring the concept of a ‘speaking silence' (line 2), it is helpful to look at this poem in comparison with Rossetti's other writings, noting the echoes that exist between them.

Investigating themes

What evidence can you find to support the idea that the speaker's main concern is with the fulfilment of his/her desire?
How would you characterise the tone of the poem?
Look through the other poems included in Texts in Detail: The poetry of Christina Rossetti. What common themes can you find?
- How does Echo reflect some of these themes?
How can an understanding of the use of an image in one poem contribute to the use of the image in another?
Think about the symbolism of the door.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. ²Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, ³saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. ⁴And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: ⁵12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, ⁶12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, ⁷12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, ⁸12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. ⁹After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! ¹¹And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹²saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. ¹³Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? ¹⁴I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. ¹⁷For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

¹And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. ²And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, ³Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. ⁴And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. ⁵Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. ⁶Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. ⁷Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. ⁸Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. ⁹After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; ¹⁰And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. ¹¹And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, ¹²Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. ¹³And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? ¹⁴And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. ¹⁶They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. ¹⁷For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John ²(although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), ³he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. ⁴And he had to pass through Samaria. ⁵So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. ⁷A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. ⁸(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. ¹¹The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock. ¹³Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. ¹⁵The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water. ¹⁶Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband, and come here. ¹⁷The woman answered him, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. ¹⁹The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. ²¹Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. ²⁵The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things. ²⁶Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. ²⁷Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, What do you seek? or, Why are you talking with her? ²⁸So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ²⁹Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ? ³⁰They went out of the town and were coming to him. ³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi, eat. ³²But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. ³³So the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought him something to eat? ³⁴Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. ³⁵Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. ³⁶Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor. ³⁹Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, He told me all that I ever did. ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of his word. ⁴²They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world. ⁴³After the two days he departed for Galilee. ⁴⁴(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) ⁴⁵So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. ⁴⁶So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. ⁴⁷When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸So Jesus said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe. ⁴⁹The official said to him, Sir, come down before my child dies. ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, Go; your son will live. The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. ⁵¹As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. ⁵²So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. ⁵³The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, Your son will live. And he himself believed, and all his household. ⁵⁴This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

¹When therefore the LORD knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, ²(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) ³He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. ⁴And he must needs go through Samaria. ⁵Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. ⁷There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. ⁸(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) ⁹Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. ¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. ¹¹The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? ¹²Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? ¹³Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: ¹⁴But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. ¹⁵The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. ¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. ¹⁷The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: ¹⁸For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. ¹⁹The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. ²¹Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²²Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. ²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. ²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ²⁵The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. ²⁶Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. ²⁷And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? ²⁸The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, ²⁹Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? ³⁰Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. ³¹In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. ³²But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. ³³Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? ³⁴Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. ³⁵Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. ³⁶And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. ³⁷And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. ³⁸I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. ³⁹And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of his own word; ⁴²And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. ⁴³Now after two days he departed thence, and went into Galilee. ⁴⁴For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. ⁴⁵Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galilaeans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast: for they also went unto the feast. ⁴⁶So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. ⁴⁷When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. ⁴⁸Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. ⁴⁹The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. ⁵⁰Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. ⁵¹And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. ⁵²Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. ⁵³So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house. ⁵⁴This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judaea into Galilee.

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