The Ways Rossetti Tells the Story in Stanzas 1 and 2 of Jessie Cameron

Write about the ways Rossetti tells the story in Stanzas 1 and 2 of Jessie Cameron

Three voices are heard in 'Jessie Cameron': that of eponymous heroine; her mysterious wooer; both presented by an anonymous, omniscient narrator. On one level the narrative voice seems very detached, despite the fact the narrator is presenting the story. The sense of the narrative voice being detached is perhaps created by the Ballad form of the poem; the rigid rhyme and rhythm necessary for song like nature of the poem removes it from reality. In fact it makes the poem seem almost childlike, which seems at odds with the dark tone the poem takes. Indeed the economy of language necessitated through the use of the Ballad form, leaves many unanswered questions - the reader for example never finds out why Jessie Cameron claims 'I'm no mate for you' - and this does mean that Rossetti's poem remains rather ambiguous.

Contrary to this detachment, the narrative voice does pass comment on the behaviour of Jessie Cameron: 'She was a careless, fearless girl' and 'apt at causing pain'. It would seem from these lines that the narrator has sympathy for the unnamed male and this reading is further emphasised through the dialogue of the lover himself. His constant refrain of 'Jessie, Jessie Cameron' and - even more of a plea - 'O Jessie, Jessie Cameron -', the hyphen indicating that Jessie interrupts this dialogue, suggest that he is suffering through her 'heedless ... tongue'.

However, the naming conventions of the poem counter this interpretation of the poem. Jessie Cameron is the only person identified in the poem, which naturally leads the reader to be more attached to her than the 'neighbour's son' who has 'loved her long and true'. The fact he is a mere 'neighbour's son' suggests that he is fairly insignificant. The dialogue, Jessie is afforded (double that of the male character) also presents her as stronger character than the pitiful wooer. Whilst she does reject the man, she is honest: 'I'm no mate for you' (though perhaps rather forthright for the time) and the fact that this line is repeated twice in this section, preceded by 'Good luck go with you' suggests that Jessie Cameron means no harm and it is made clear by the narrator that she would be as direct to 'earl or churl'. Indeed many of the descriptions afforded for Jessie carry positive connotations: 'kindhearted', 'mirthful', 'young' and 'fair'.

In this section of the poem, the image of the sea is used and its descriptions are in direct contrast with those used for Jessie Cameron. The recurring image of the sea takes on greater significance in the denouement of the poem, but in this section Rossetti uses it to create a sense