Lyric Poem · Death & Loss
When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Song)
by Christina Rossetti · 1862
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Song)” by Christina Rossetti — quilloak.com/poems/when-i-am-dead-my-dearest
Quick facts
- Poem
- When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Song)
- Poet
- Christina Rossetti
- Published
- 1862
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems
- Themes
- Death & Loss, Sad, Short
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 16 lines · 2 octaves
- Line length
- Lines run 6-8 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on a United States term-expiry review; status can differ elsewhere.
- Author record
- Christina Rossetti1830–1894
- Source record
- QuillOak curated editionWhen I Am Dead, My Dearest (Song) (1862) by christina-rossetti
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1862
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 02d981114eca5b7e…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.