A BIRTHDAY

The title of the poem makes sense when the final two lines of the poem
are read. Here her love coming to her is described as the birthday of
my life.

The poem is saturated with sensuous vocabulary, which students

should explore fully. Unfamiliar words such as dais and archaic words
such as vair are explained in the glossary. Some students are likely to
benefit from researching what pomegranates and peacocks look like.

There is a clear contrast between the content of each stanza. The first
deals with actual images of nature and the second with the artificial
and exotic images of nature (e.g. gold and silver grapes).

The first stanza describes the extent of the speakers happiness. The
final line makes it clear that she is happier than all the things she
describes because her love is coming to her. In the second stanza she
wishes to immerse herself in rich and beautiful surroundings in order to
celebrate her love coming to her.
Important to note is the close association of religion, love and the
individual. The persona is being spoken off as having the freedom and
creativity to create a new identity for herself at any point in her life,
without the need to depend upon anyone else. The persona is very
content with herself and her religion, her love. She is born as per her
convenience, a new life that she has herself created, which makes her
self-sufficient and pioneering. She firmly holds the reign of her own life
in her hands.
The poem is similar in many ways to Pied Beauty as it highlights the
effect of a religious discovery. The persona in both poems discovers
something truly unique about themselves or the world around them
through religion, which confirms and strengthens their faith in God.
Both the personas use religion in an empowering manner. The poets of
both poems have used autobiographical elements in the poem which
concern their journey of life through religion. Hopkins discovers variety
and difference, while Rossetti discovers unity and self assurance.

Thematic links with set poems

Nature: Pied Beauty, Summer Farm, Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
Religion: A Different History, Pied Beauty