Title: The Blessed Damozel
Description: "The Blessed Damozel" is perhaps the best known poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which was first published in 1850 in the Pre-Raphaelite journal The Germ. Rossetti subsequently revised the poem twice and republished it in 1856, 1870 and 1873. Rossetti also used the same title for some of his best known paintings. The poem was partially inspired by Poe's "The Raven", with its depiction of a lover grieving on Earth over the death of his loved one. Rossetti chose to represent the situation in reverse. The poem describes the damozel observing her lover from heaven, and her unfulfilled yearning for their reunion in heaven. The poem also was the inspiration of Claude Debussy's "La damoiselle élue" (1888), a cantata for two soloists, female choir, and orchestra. The first four stanzas of the poem are inscribed on the frame of the painting.
Author(s): Dante Gabriel Rossetti