Heart's Compass Love's Compass Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1 By permission of the British Library Love's Compass Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1871 draft manuscript 1 small leaf British Library MS. adds 34813 lined white paper 8.6 x 7 in The leaf is torn from one of DGR's typical notebooks. Commentary
Introduction

This is an early draft of the sonnet, probably the first draft.

Textual History: Composition

Textual History: Revision

Production History

Reception History

Iconographic

Printing History

Pictorial

Historical

Literary

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

The appearance of the title suggests a three-stage revision. DGR originally composed the title as “Beauty's Compass.” He then struck out “Beauty's” and wrote “Love's” above as a replacement. He next thought to change “Compass” to “Sonnet”, going so far as to write in the latter above the former. Finally, he decided to keep “Compass” and struck out “Sonnet”. 42 Numbering in upper right hand corner, not by DGR <add>Love's</add> <add> <del>Secret</del> </add> <lb/> <del>Beauty's</del> Compass (H. of L.) Sometimes you thou seems't not as yourself thyself alone, But as the meaning of all things that are; A breathless wonder, shadowing forth afar Some heavenly solstice hushed & halcyon; Whose still unstirred lips are music's visible z tone; Whose eyes the silence/day-gate sun-gate of the soul unbar, Being made of with of the its furthest fires oracular;— The evident heart of all things life sown & mown. Is Love not these Even such love is; and is not thy name Love? Yea, by thy hand the Love-god rends apart All gathering clouds of n Night's ambiguous art; Flings them far down, & sets thine eyes above; And simply, as some gage of flower or glove, Stakes with a smile the world against thy heart.