Nature's Anthropomorphic Role in Rossetti's "Winter: My Secret".

Nature's influence on romantic era writing has been well-covered in this class. Nevertheless, it's role takes on a nuance in Romantic poetry in that Nature is often portrayed with human characteristics; more than just the scenery, it is itself a character. In Rossetti's "Winter: My Secret", Winter is given a female persona. This adds softness and depth to a season that is normally referred to with dense and dark lyrics. In fact the feminine Winter is rather playful, which is a change of pace from the winter we were introduced to in Romantic novels such as Frankenstein. Almost flirting with the reader, the tone of the poem is set by the playful disposition of Nature; and by using a season that is normally associated with , it makes the characterization all the more significant,

"I tell my secret? No indeed, not I:
Perhaps some day, who knows?
..................................................
You want to hear it? well:
Only, my secret's mine, and I won't tell" (Rossetti 492)

The words used by the Season are also a change of pace, and serve to add to the lightness of Winter's character. In regards to the wintery winds that normally we associate with words like "stinging" or "biting" or "stiff", Nature's light-heartedness again sets the tone:

"Come bounding and surrounding me,
Come buffeting, astounding me,
Nipping and clipping thro' my wraps and all" (Rossetti 492)

The diction here transforms the mood of the poem into something we're used to seeing from a springtime piece. By contrast, the traditionally light-hearted seasons are given heavy words: March is giving a "peck of dust" (Rossetti 492), and Summer is "languid" (Rossetti 492). The use of these words, combined with the softness of the feminine form, flips the traditional seasonal paradigm on its head.