Christina Rosetti

Christina Rosetti was born on the 5th December 1830. She had two brothers and a sister, of which two became writers and one became artist and a poet. Christina was the youngest of the four siblings, but her writing talents became clear through her lively attitude and the fact that she formed and shared her first story even before she could write.
She was educated by her Mother and mainly studied classic literature, religious works and fairytales, which may explain the fairytale characteristics of one of her most famous poems, 'Goblin Market'.
In her early teens, her Father became ill and her family began to slowly slip into poverty. At that point, Christina began to suffer from depression and related illness. It was at this time that she became greatly interested in the Anglo-Cathlic movement of the Church of England and religious devotion began to play a major role in her life. Religion can also be linked with many aspects in her future poetry.
Rosetti began to write and date her poems in around 1842 at the age of 10. Her early poems imitated some of her favorite poets and she experimented with ballads, hymns and sonnets. Her early writings also mainly symbolised death and loss.
She wrote her most famous piece, 'Goblin Market', at the age of 31 and received widespread praise from colleagues and critics, establishing her as the preeminent female poet of the time.
Her poetry widely consisted of feminist themes and she herself was opposed to slavery and animal cruelty, which were much more widely practised in the 1870's.