‘Jessie Cameron’ is a poem by Christina Rossetti, written in ballad form, focusing on a woman’s active choice to reject marriage, and the consequences of this. The poem is quite upbeat, with an almost childish quality to it, because of the alternate rhyme scheme, which is quite ironic, as ultimately the main characters of the poem die. The methodical structure of the poem could be seen to represent the sounds of waves that are ever present within the poem. Throughout, there is a lot of sibilance incorporated, for example, ‘sea swept,’ ‘sea winds that shiver’ and ‘shrilly screaming,’ which also emphasize the constant rolling of the waves in the sea, which in itself, could be not only literal, but metaphorical of the relationship between Jessie and her lover, which seems to become increasingly turbulent, as she rejects him; ‘but I’m no mate for you.’
In the stanza beginning on line 61, an increasing number of dashes are used, to increase the tension, particularly as the sea is getting closer and closer, and she is in physical and metaphorical danger; ‘but now her feet are in the foam.’ Even the first line of this stanza is her name, ‘Jessie Cameron,’ which shows that this name is part of her individuality, and she will not change it for any man, which in itself causes tension as, it would have been very a-typical at the time of writing, in 1864, as women were thought of as men’s property and as quite weak and submissive, yet Jessie is neither or these at this point. By keeping her name, she is actively relinquishing having any power held over her.
Further on in the narrative, from linen 85 and onwards, Rossetti begins to include Iambic dimeter, which does not fit the typical ballad form that most of the poem adheres to. The short lines, for example, ‘no more for ever,’ add to the sense of isolation of the couple, being completely alone, about to be swept into the sea.
Although the poem is not told in the first person, dialogue is frequently used, supposedly from the couple, which almost gives the sense that it is in fact a first person account. This gives a false sense of reliability, when really, the reader has no idea whether what’s being reported is true. There is also a repetition of hearsay from neighbours and locals; ‘some say’ which might confuse the reader, making them unsure of what is genuinely true, if anything, in the poem. For example, people are reported to gossip about Jessie’s lover; ‘some say that he had gipsy blood,’ which is a negative portrayal, particularly in contrast to Jessie, who is declared to be ‘kind-hearted,’ while he is said to have ‘guile’ in ‘his heart,’ suggesting that he has almost charmed her, deceived her to make her stay on the beach, therefore ultimately causing her death. Yet, the narrator challenges this by saying, ‘Yet he had gone through fire and flood,’ which demonstrates that he does genuinely love Jessie, and would do anything for her. This in itself challenges Victorian marriage conventions, as love was considered irrelevant; people married for status and security, rather than romance.
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