Good Friday

Essay Questions

1. How does Rossetti use the contrast between the natural world and her own inner state to explore the theme of spiritual numbness in "Good Friday"?

Consider how the darkened sun and moon, and the emotional responses of figures at the crucifixion, function as a mirror against which Rossetti measures her own capacity for grief. How does this contrast sustain the poem's central tension? (AQA AO1/AO2; IB guiding concept: Identity)

1. To what extent is "Good Friday" a poem about spiritual crisis rather than devotional certainty?

Explore how Rossetti's tone shifts across the poem — from self-accusation and confusion to urgent, almost demanding prayer — and consider whether the poem's conclusion offers resolution or merely a more articulate form of doubt. (AQA AO1/AO2; AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis)

1. How does Rossetti employ biblical allusion and symbol to transform personal emotional failure into a universal spiritual condition in "Good Friday"?

In your response, analyse the significance of at least two symbols — such as the stone, the sheep, and the smitten rock — and examine how each contributes to the poem's argument about the relationship between faith, feeling, and divine grace. (AQA AO2; IB guiding concept: Transformation)

1. "The isolated central stanza of 'Good Friday' is the emotional and structural heart of the poem." How far do you agree with this view?

Consider how Rossetti uses structure, voice, and the deliberate isolation of a single moment to dramatise her feelings of spiritual separation, and evaluate how this shapes the reader's experience of the poem as a whole. (AQA AO1/AO2; AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis)

1. *How does the concept of acedia — spiritual dryness or numbness — shape both the subject matter and the poetic voice of "Good Friday"?*

Drawing on the poem's historical and biographical context, explore how Rossetti's Anglo-Catholic faith and her personal experience of doubt and illness inform the poem's candid self-examination. To what extent does the poem reframe spiritual failure as a form of honest devotion? (AQA AO3; IB guiding concept: Faith and Belief)

1. Compare the treatment of grief and emotional expression in "Good Friday" with another poem in which a speaker confronts an inability to feel or mourn.

Consider how each poet uses imagery, structure, and voice to explore the gap between expected and actual emotional response, and evaluate the extent to which each poem proposes a resolution to this inner conflict. (AQA AO1/AO2/AO4; AP Lit Q2 comparative poetry analysis; IB guiding concept: Sorrow)

1. How does Rossetti construct a poetic identity in "Good Friday" that is simultaneously self-accusing and self-advocating?

Explore how the speaker's references to Peter, the women, and the thief — all of whom wept — position her within a community of faith from which she feels excluded, while her final prayer nonetheless asserts her claim on Christ's attention. What does this tension reveal about Rossetti's understanding of identity and belonging? (AQA AO1/AO2; IB guiding concept: Identity)

1. To what extent does "Good Friday" present prayer as an act of desperation rather than of confident faith?

Analyse how the tone, imagery, and the Old Testament allusion to Moses and the rock combine to characterise the speaker's final plea, and consider what Rossetti implies about the nature of the relationship between the human soul and the divine. (AQA AO1/AO2; AP Lit Q1 poetry analysis; IB guiding concept: Faith and Belief)