Beauty and the Bird (fair copy, Huntington Library) Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1 ŠThe Huntington Library Bella's Bulfinch Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1858 Fair copy DGR DGR Huntington Library HM 6083 Originally from library of WMR, whose endorsement is on the verso of the manuscript. 19.6 x 12.5 (approx.) lined notebook paper none The manuscript is roughly torn at the left so that all of the original margin is gone as well as the lettering of some of the initial words in almost all of the lines. Commentary
Introduction

This is the text of the poem as it was initially first printed in the Penkill Proofs for the 1870 volume in August 1869. That printing date discounts WMR's suggestion, in his manuscript note on the verso of this leaf, that the leaf might be one from the notebook buried in DGR's wife's coffin in 1862. The coffined notebook was not recovered until October 1869.

WMR's suggestion that the sonnet might date from sometime earlier than 1858 is interesting and perhaps important.

The MS is mutilated; the missing text in each case is editorially supplied.

Textual History: Composition

Textual History: Revision

Production History

Reception History

Iconographic

Printing History

Pictorial

Historical

Literary

Translation

Autobiographical

Bibliographic

MS. of DGRossetti's—This is his handwriting towards 1858, but I think the sonnet was composed some years earlier—It relates to Miss Siddal, whom he married in 1860—There is some reason (but not certain) for thinking that this MS. was one of those wh[ich] in 1862 were buried in her coffin—Published title “Beauty and the Bird”. WMR This is WMR's note on the verso of the manuscript. <del>The</del> Bella's Bullfinch<lb/> <ornlb>-</ornlb> The alteration of the title was made at the time that the manuscript was originally scripted. [Sh]e fluted with her mouth as when one sips, [A]nd waved her golden head, brave head & kind, [Ou]tside his cage close to the window-blind; [T]ill her sweet bird, with little turns and dips, [Pi]ped low to her of sweet companionships. And when he stopped, she took some seed, I vow, [A]nd fed him from her rosy tongue, which now [Pee]ped as a piercing bud between her lips. [A]nd like the child in Chaucer, on whose tongue The Blessed Mary laid, when he was dead, A grain,—who straightway praised her name in song: Even so when she, a little lightly red, Now turned on me & laughed, I felt made strong [To] honour and to praise her golden head. next Our transcription of this word is tentative. It is written diagonally below the last line of the poem and appears to be in DGR's handwriting.