Love and Loss. (Three Sonnets.)

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

General Description

Date: 1871
Meter: iambic pentameter
Genre: sonnet group

Scholarly Commentary

Introduction

In 1871, DGR made a fair-copy manuscript (Ashley 1407) of three sonnets under this title. The sonnets were The Lovers' Walk, Love's Antiphony, and Without Her. (“Love's Antiphony” was eventually published under the title, “Youth's Antiphony”.) This unique manuscript was evidently made as a gift copy for someone, probably Jane Morris.

Textual History: Composition

The sonnets were written when DGR was staying with Mrs. Morris at her Kelmscott home in the summer of 1871.

Printing History

The three sonnets were first published as part of the 1881 text of The House of Life, but not in sequence. “The Lovers' Walk” was sonnet XII, “Love's Antiphony” was sonnet XIII (and was titled “Youth's Antiphony”, and “Without Her” was sonnet LIII.

Electronic Archive Edition: 1
Source File: 49-1871.raw.xml