"Up-Hill" By Christina Rossetti

            “Up-Hill” by Christina Rossetti has a rhyming pattern of ABAB in each stanza. This helps to contrast the different lines of the two speakers. One speaker generally has the longer lines and the other has the remaining lines. The “A” speaker in the rhyming pattern is a traveler along some journey and the other speaker is someone with a lot of wisdom about the journey. The journey described is most likely intended to be specifically the journey of life. In this case, the poem should be described as an allegory not only because of its definiteness of meaning, but also because it consists of a series of connected symbolic constructions that all relate to one another and to the story of life to which they are being compared. The story-like nature of the poem indicates an allegory. The absence of quotation marks around each line to distinguish the speakers depersonalizes them and makes them seem more representative than specific. The fact that the road “[winds] up-hill all the way” and “[takes] the whole long day” suggests something beyond the literal journey. The unrealistic nature of the last line which indicates that there are “beds for all who come” also clues to the deeper meaning. The road is up-hill the whole way because life is hard and the traveler will need comfort after the strain. More specifically, the journey in this poem is the journey of a Christian. This is indicated by the allusions in the final two stanzas. Jesus tells everyone to knock and the door to heaven shall be opened. On a similar note, in heaven, there is mention of there being ample room for everyone who comes. The traveler also worries that he may miss the inn, but is assured that that cannot happen. The phrase “of labor you shall find the sum” assures the traveler that there will be reward at the end of life for those who make it to the inn. Subtly, there is an implication that all that is required to get into the inn representing Heaven is to know it exists and seek to find it. The voice with all of the answers sounds strikingly as though it is meant to represent Jesus.