Concentred Companionship

William Michael Rossetti

General Description

Date: 1848
Rhyme: abbaabbacdeecd
Meter: iambic pentameter
Genre: sonnet

Bibliography

◦ Baum, Manuscripts in the Duke University Library, 14-16, 56-65

◦ Winwar, “Dante Gabriel's or William Michael's?” 1933, 312-315

Scholarly Commentary

Introduction

This is one of the group of sonnets that DGR and WMR wrote to rhymes set by each other. The brothers played this verse game between 1847-1849, and principally in 1848. The rule was that the sonnet should be written quickly, in five to ten minutes (see WMR's note in 1911, pages 673-674 ). Twenty-six survive, fourteen having been published by WMR in 1911 (pages 263-267). Paull Franklin Baum published eighteen in his Analytical List of Manuscripts in the Duke University Library pages 56-65 .

Although all of the sonnets first published by Baum are in DGR's autograph, Frances Winwar has persuasively argued that a number are not DGR's but WMR's. This is one of the nine Winwar assigns to WMR. Its manuscript text is heavily revised by DGR

Electronic Archive Edition: 1
Source File: 28-1848.raw.xml