no thank you john essay

• Ask LitCharts AI
• Discussion Question Generator
• Essay Prompt Generator
• Quiz Question Generator

• Literature Guides
• Poetry Guides
• Shakespeare Translations
• Literary Terms

No, Thank You, John Summary & Analysis by Christina Rossetti

• Introduction
• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Download PDF
• Line-by-Line Explanations

The Full Text of “No, Thank You, John”

1 I never said I loved you, John:

2         Why will you tease me, day by day,

3 And wax a weariness to think upon

4         With always "do" and "pray"?

5 You know I never loved you, John;

6         No fault of mine made me your toast:

7 Why will you haunt me with a face as wan

8         As shows an hour-old ghost?

9 I dare say Meg or Moll would take

10         Pity upon you, if you'd ask:

11 And pray don't remain single for my sake

12         Who can't perform that task.

13 I have no heart?—Perhaps I have not;

14         But then you're mad to take offence

15 That I don't give you what I have not got:

16         Use your common sense.

17 Let bygones be bygones:

18         Don't call me false, who owed not to be true:

19 I'd rather answer "No" to fifty Johns

20         Than answer "Yes" to you.

21 Let's mar our pleasant days no more,

22         Song-birds of passage, days of youth:

23 Catch at to-day, forget the days before:

24         I'll wink at your untruth.

25 Let us strike hands as hearty friends;

26         No more, no less: and friendship's good:

27 Only don't keep in view ulterior ends,

28         And points not understood

29 In open treaty. Rise above

30         Quibbles and shuffling off and on:

31 Here's friendship for you if you like; but love,—

32         No, thank you, John.

“No, Thank You, John” Introduction

• Read the full text of “No, Thank You, John”

“No, Thank You, John” Summary

“no, thank you, john” themes.

Unrequited Love and Gender

• See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “No, Thank You, John”

I never said I loved you, John:         Why will you tease me, day by day, And wax a weariness to think upon         With always "do" and "pray"?

You know I never loved you, John;         No fault of mine made me your toast: Why will you haunt me with a face as wan         As shows an hour-old ghost?

I dare say Meg or Moll would take         Pity upon you, if you'd ask: And pray don't remain single for my sake         Who can't perform that task.

Lines 13-16

I have no heart?—Perhaps I have not;         But then you're mad to take offence That I don't give you what I have not got:         Use your common sense.

Lines 17-20

Let bygones be bygones:         Don't call me false, who owed not to be true: I'd rather answer "No" to fifty Johns         Than answer "Yes" to you.

Lines 21-24

Let's mar our pleasant days no more,         Song-birds of passage, days of youth: Catch at to-day, forget the days before:         I'll wink at your untruth.

Lines 25-28

Let us strike hands as hearty friends;         No more, no less: and friendship's good: Only don't keep in view ulterior ends,         And points not understood

Lines 29-32

In open treaty. Rise above         Quibbles and shuffling off and on: Here's friendship for you if you like; but love,—         No, thank you, John.

“No, Thank You, John” Symbols

• See where this symbol appears in the poem.

“No, Thank You, John” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

Alliteration

“no, thank you, john” vocabulary.

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “No, Thank You, John”

Rhyme scheme, “no, thank you, john” speaker, “no, thank you, john” setting, literary and historical context of “no, thank you, john”, more “no, thank you, john” resources, external resources.

"No, Thank You, John" Quartet Adaptation — Listen to a musical quartet adaptation of the entire poem. 

"No, Thank You, John" Choral Adaptation — Listen to a choral adaptation of the poem.

The Poem Read Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

A Video Interpretation — Watch a video interpretation of the poem.

Rossetti Among the Pre-Raphaelites — A review considering the relationship between Rossetti's work and the art of that time, including historical context for "No, Thank You, John."

LitCharts on Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

An Apple Gathering

Babylon the Great

Cousin Kate

From the Antique

Good Friday

In an Artist's Studio

In the Round Tower at Jhansi, June 8, 1857 (Indian Mutiny)

Maude Clare

Piteous my rhyme is

Sister Maude

Soeur Louise de la Miséricorde

Some ladies dress in muslin full and white

Song (When I am dead, my dearest)

Winter: My Secret

• Quizzes, saving guides, requests, plus so much more.

Written for

Document information, connected book.

• Related courses
• English Literature
• A2 Unit 3 - Poetry Pre-1900 and Unseen Poetry

Summary A* analysis of Christina Rossetti's No, Thank You, John

• Institution
• Goblin Market and Other Poems

This A* poetry revision sheet includes: THEMES, SUMMARY OF THE POEM, STRUCTURE AND IMAGERY ANALYSIS.

Preview 1 out of 2  pages

•   Report Copyright Violation

Preview 1 out of 2 pages

• Summarized whole book? Yes
• Uploaded on November 20, 2020
• File latest updated on November 20, 2020
• Number of pages 2
• Written in 2018/2019
• Type Summary
• christina rossetti
• no thank you john

Book Title: Goblin Market and Other Poems

Author(s): Christina Rossetti, Christina G. Rossetti

• Edition: Unknown
• ISBN: 9780486280554

More summaries for

• Summary A* analysis of Christina Rossetti's De Profundis
• Summary A* analysis of Christina Rossetti's A Castle Builder's World
• Summary A* analysis of Christina Rossetti's A Daughter of Eve
• Study Level A/AS Level
• Examinator WJEC
• Subject English Literature
• Unit A2 Unit 3 - Poetry Pre-1900 and Unseen Poetry

1  review

By: soph2 • 2 year ago

Reviews received

Content preview, the benefits of buying summaries with stuvia:.

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do i get when i buy this document.

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ellanieve. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for £3.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now

“No, Thank You, John” by Christina Rossetti Essay Example

• Pages: 3 (630 words)
• Published: October 25, 2017
• Type: Essay

The poem '"No, Thank You, John"' by Christina Rossetti, is about a conflicting love relationship. Throughout this poem she uses catharsis, consonance and a rhythm and rhyming device, to convey her theme. The poem expresses her true feelings towards a friend who wishes to have a deeper relationship with her although she does not have similar feelings towards him. '"No, Thank You, John"' is a poem about "John", who wishes to have a deeper love relationship with Christina. She does not have the same loving feelings towards John and hence causes a conflict.

Christina expresses her feelings to John and tells him she is not interested in a relationship but he does not seem to understand. She explains to him "Let us strike our hands as hearty friends; No more, no less; and friendship's good: Only don't ke

ep in view ulterior ends, and points understood". What she is expressing here is that she only wishes to be friends with him nothing more, nothing less. This is also an expression of catharsis, which is the expression of emotions through pity.

She uses this literary device throughout the poem. A few examples being "I never said I loved you", "Pity upon you if you ask" and "Here's friendship for you if you like; but love,- No, thank you, John. " She expresses her feelings this way because she does feel saddened by his deep emotions for her. Christina uses several literary devices including catharsis, as we just saw, throughout the poem to convey her feelings to the reader. Another example of this is consonance.

Consonance is used throughout the poem as we see in the second and fifth stanzas "No

fault of mine made me your toast" and "Let bygones be bygones". The repetition of consonants, "mine made me" and "bygones be bygones" expresses her deeper feelings by intensifying the expression of her feelings. It intensifies the words and therefore makes the expression of her feelings loud to the reader. She uses this literary device so the reader can understand her thoroughly. Christina also uses a rhythm and rhyming technique throughout the poem. This technique is not uncommon.

As the poem rhymes it also makes sense and gives the poem a deeper meaning. "Let's mar our pleasant days no more, Song-birds of passage, days of youth: Catch at today, forget the days before: I'll wink at your untruth" using this literary device gives emphasis to the rhyming words "more" and "before", "youth" and "untruth". It gives the words a deeper meaning and expresses Christina's true feelings to the reader. This stanza also uses another literary device carpe diem, which is seizing the day and that one should live life to the fullest.

Christina is saying to John that he should accept friendship and be happy with the fact that he at least can have her as a friend as opposed to not having a relationship with her at all. He should seize the day and accept her friendship and find love elsewhere because she does not have feelings for him similar to his deep feelings towards her. Her uses of literary devices are uniquely placed and are apparent to the reader thus making her emotions some across as strong so the reader understands her tone.

Just to name a few catharsis, consonance, her rhyming technique and easing into

the cape diem idea all make Christina's points come across strongly. Although she expresses her feelings towards not having deep emotions for John in this poem, this does not simply mean she does not care for him all together. She obviously cares deeply for him since she took the time to write a poem. Her feelings just lie on more of a friendship level than his do.

• A Critical Appreciation of " Essay Example
• The Affliction of Margaret Essay Example
• As The Teams Head Brass and Disabled Essay Example
• Exposure and Spring Offensive Essay Example
• The Daffodils And Miracle On St David's Day Essay Example
• The Beggar Woman by William King and Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy Essay Example
• A Comparison Of Trout and Cow in Calf by Seamus Heaney Essay Example
• Mirror, by Sylvia Plath Essay Example
• An Essay Comparing 'Medallion' and 'Snake'
• Analyse Isolation In Long Distance (harrison) Essay Example
• In what ways do ballads express enduring human condition Essay Example
• How does rossetti tell the story in the convent threshold Essay Example
• Ballad of Wordly Wealth Essay Example
• Compare and Contrast the Daffodils and Darkling Thrush Essay Example
• Analysis of "Boy at the Window" Essay Example
• Aldous Huxley essays
• Alice Walker essays
• Amy tan essays
• Anne Bradstreet essays
• Anton Chekhov essays
• Arthur Miller essays
• Augustine essays
• Bertolt Brecht essays
• Booker T Washington essays
• Carol ann duffy essays
• Charles Dickens essays
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman essays
• Chinua Achebe essays
• Christina Rossetti essays
• Consider The Lobster essays
• Edgar Allan Poe essays
• Elizabeth Bishop essays
• Emily Dickinson essays
• Ernest Hemingway essays
• F. Scott Fitzgerald essays
• George Orwell essays
• Harper Lee essays
• Homer essays
• James Baldwin essays
• Jane Austen essays
• John Donne essays
• John Steinbeck essays
• Kate Chopin essays
• Kurt Vonnegut essays
• Langston Hughes essays
• Leonardo Da Vinci essays
• Mark Twain essays
• Mary Shelley essays
• Maya Angelou essays
• Nathaniel Hawthorne essays
• Oscar Wilde essays
• Percy Bysshe Shelley essays
• Peter Skrzynecki essays
• Phillis Wheatley essays
• Poets essays
• Ralph Waldo Emerson essays
• Ray Bradbury essays
• Richard Rodriguez essays
• Robert Browning essays
• Robert Frost essays
• Robert Louis Stevenson essays
• Seamus Heaney essays
• Sherman Alexie essays
• Sophocles essays
• Stephen King essays

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards.

• Enter your topic/question
• Receive an explanation
• Ask one question at a time
• Enter a specific assignment topic
• Aim at least 500 characters
• a topic sentence that states the main or controlling idea
• supporting sentences to explain and develop the point you’re making
• evidence from your reading or an example from the subject area that supports your point
• analysis of the implication/significance/impact of the evidence finished off with a critical conclusion you have drawn from the evidence.

Unfortunately copying the content is not possible

Tell us your email address and we’ll send this sample there..

By continuing, you agree to our Terms and Conditions .

No, Thank You, John

By christina rossetti, no, thank you, john essay questions.

How does the poem's meter reflect its themes and conflicts?

Rossetti uses an irregular and unusual meter in "No, Thank You, John," which suggests and mimics the disruptive and erratic nature of John's behavior. The first two lines of each quatrain are generally written in iambic tetrameter, so that by midway through the stanza, a fairly regular, predictable, and comfortable rhythm has been established. This rhythm is strained in the following line, where Rossetti adds an iamb, creating iambic pentameter. Finally, Rossetti completely shatters expectations with the final line of the stanza, which she shrinks rather than expands, using iambic trimeter. It therefore appears to end suddenly and prematurely, in an imitation of the sudden, uncontrollable way in which John intrudes upon the speaker's life.

Pinpoint a climactic or transitional moment in the poem and describe its importance.

This work can be roughly divided into two major sections, with a transition occurring after the fifth stanza. In the first of these two sections, the speaker's tone is more raw, angry, and unfiltered. She implores John to explain his behavior with questions like "Why will you tease me, day by day," and she uses sharp reprimands like "Use your common sense." In the second section, she appears to adopt a new, more careful strategy of compromise and coaxing. She begins stanza six with the verb "let's," proposing a mutual effort rather than discussing only John's actions or only her own. She then sets out the terms of a friendship with John, making a firm but gentle overture towards an agreement.

Compare and contrast two uses of figurative language in the context of this work.

Rossetti uses relatively little figurative language, making each instance of it memorable and stark. One of the poem's earliest images concerns John's "wan" appearance as he pursues the speaker. Here, the speaker uses metaphor to compare John to a ghost, suggesting that he is somewhat frightening and unappealing in his insistence, and simultaneously suggesting that he has reduced his own vitality through lovesickness. Later, the speaker uses another metaphor to compare the flight of a songbird to the passage of time. Similarly to the ghost metaphor, this one emphasizes mortality, impermanence, and ephemerality. However, this one stresses the value of fleeting life rather than the coming of a dreaded (if non-literal) death.

No, Thank You, John Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for No, Thank You, John is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for No, Thank You, John

No, Thank You, John study guide contains a biography of Christina Rossetti, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About No, Thank You, John
• No, Thank You, John Summary
• Character List

Lesson Plan for No, Thank You, John

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to No, Thank You, John
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• No, Thank You, John Bibliography

Analysis Of No Thank You John

Show More In literature, there were not many examples of women that refused to adhere to the status quo. We have plenty of men and women who wrote for the continuation of the male hierarchy. There were some, however, that decided to write in opposition to the norm. Christina Rossetti, for example, wrote a poem titled “No, Thank You, John” which criticizes the marriage system and indirectly becomes a proponent to the concept of the new woman . A new woman is considered to be independent, educated, and uninterested in marriage and family, as is the narrator of this poem. As such, this poem uses several tactics to convince the reader that the marriage system is broken and ridiculous through the eyes of a “new woman” narrator. Rossetti, an ally of the feminist movement, frequently criticizes those (including …show more content… A new woman herself, she condemns male authors who believe that women are art instead of people. This will also become an apparent theme throughout this poem. She uses many of the defining factors of a new woman to explain how the gender hierarchy is unfair to women. We can see that Rossetti wove in her values as a feminist in order to reveal to the reader that women should be of their own person. Considered to be a fairly simple and obvious poem, “No, Thank You, John” should also be thought of as an advocate of the new woman concept. The narrator is directly rejecting a boy named John, who wants her to love him even though she has told him “no.” The narrator, a new woman, is opposed to the idea of marriage. She says “and pray don’t remain single for my sake/ who can’t perform that task,” (Rossetti 11-12) meaning that she does not want to marry him and would like him to try someone else. We can assume that the narrator has

Related Documents

Batting clean-up and striking out analysis.

Response on Dave Barry’s “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out” Glancing around my bedroom, I observe clean floors and homework assignments sprawled out on the table as my jumbled written thoughts are on the brink of being thrown away. My collection of books is lined up neatly on a shelf along with the stuffed animals my grown-up self does not play with anymore. I can hear down the stairs and I listen to the television playing the Cleveland Brown’s football game and the microwave signaling the finished result of the leftover brisket that was in the refrigerator. In Dave Barry’s essay, “Batting Clean-Up and Striking Out,” he explains that the majority of women fasten their focus on the unimportant aspects of life such as cleaning; yet through the…

A Double Standard Poem Analysis

Sexual complexities within this poem basis on gender. Is the gender of being a man more valuable than of a woman? Harper believes that man and woman is as one and not to be separated. Society believes men are empowered and women are blamed for their role in the failure of a male dominant relationship. Most compelling evidence is “Do you blame me that I loved him?…

John Foner's Summary In 'Give Me Liberty'

She later on left her husband because he did not treat her how she should have been treated. She was human after all like him, they were the same, but because she was a women he didn 't feel the need to treat her well. This document tells us how women were starting to look for solutions to problems on their own. It reminds us that men just thought women were to be obedient and that their actions were always incorrect. Women in these years were starting to do things that none of them had done before, like standing up for what they deserved, rights.…

Curley's Wife And The Yellow Wallpaper Analysis

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Gilman, their main female characters are explored through their marriages, their inability to express themselves and limitations due to their gender in a similar time, from the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Both Curley’s Wife and ‘Jane’ were controlled by their husbands, the women are seen as inferior and hence, they are incapable to do what they want, when they want. Both female characters are deprived of the ability to express themselves through any medium so, they find ways to go against their husband’s wishes which in turn characterises the women as disloyal, if not only to their husbands. The two women have to power in their own situations, to make decisions…

Analysis Of Diane Ackerman's Poem Sweep Me Through Your Many Chambered Heart

Throughout the poem there are no signs indicating that the man has become emotionally attached. Their love was special specifically to her. This idea highlights the myths in modern day society. The myth that women are more emotionally involved than men, thus leaving them more vulnerable to heartbreak, and being hopelessly attached. The idea of love is often related to gender.…

About Marriage By Danielle Crittenden Summary

Did the passage of years affect how society views the role of women, or do we still view women as housewives? In the United States, women earned the right to vote in 1920s and after couple of years they were able to become involved in the society. Even though women have equal rights as men, there are certain expectations that society forces on the women, such as, house chores. When we see men as house husband, we see this act as heroic and we get amazed by those acts.…

The Emigrants By Charlotte Smith Summary

Helen Maria Williams, Charlotte Smith and the French Revolution Women of the 18th century were writing novels, lyric poetry and conduct books, but after the fall of the Bastille in 1789, political concerns appeared in their writing. They entered male dominating territory as historical writing was traditionally a male preserve (Walker, 2011, p. 145). In the 1790s a ‘Women’s War’ developed as women writers explored new genres in which they expressed their opinions on events in France, which their male contemporaries already were doing (ibid.). Helen Maria Williams and Charlotte Smith were two of the most important women writers of the period. They saw the French Revolution through women’s eyes and put their understanding of it in writing.…

History Of The Progressive Era

Women wanting their independence under any circumstances, but within what they believe is proper for their private families as well as their country and race (Herland, Ch.8). The women were unlike anything the men have ever saw: they were strong and self-confident, intelligent, and more importantly, unafraid of men. These women were also fast like marathon winners, something the men never have never encountered (Herland, Ch.3). This had blended the role for women’s political opinions that had expanded during the Progressive Era. There were many reformers that were middle and upper class women, this meant that the growing economy as well as the expansion of…

A Certain Lady Poem Analysis

Thus, despite his liaisons he always finds himself coming back to her. Yet, she is not content with this relationship. Her repetition of “I can do this” comes with a lack of sincerity. Just because she comes off as pure and sweet does not make it so. She clearly desires the man in the poem, she clearly disapproves of his womanizing.…

Women's Equality Dbq Essay

Throughout the 17th and 18th century women began to fight for intellectual and social equality with men. Women’s fight for equality was plagued with everlasting stereotypes. That woman was weaker both physically and mentally. As well that their roles were as child bearers and caregivers rather. They were not accepted in politics, academics, business, or military.…

The Revolt Of Mother

They Don’t Need No Man The role of women from the realism time period to the modernism time period changed dramatically. In the realism period, women still have not gotten any equal rights, including voting, being in politics, and even being in any workplace. This caused many women to go against their husband or any other man. The stories in the realism time period that portray this is “The Revolt of Mother” by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, and “A New England Nun” by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman.…

The American Dream In The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath

At the time women were oppressed in almost every way the expectation was that a girl should marry by her early 20s, start a family and then dedicate her life to domestic duties. As Stephanie Coontz, a writer of the time, put it, "The female doesn 't really expect a lot from life. She 's here as someone 's keeper — her husband 's or her children 's." Women were at the mercy…

On The Equality Of The Sexes Analysis

The 19th amendment, Title VII, Title IX, Roe v. Wade; while all of these are ratifications that the United States has implemented throughout its short history to transform itself into a nation whose ideals fall upon equality, there was a time when they did not exist and inequality was rampant among gender, race, and social class. It has taken hundreds of years to reach the societal equality we have today and it is all thanks to the first steps that were taken by women and slaves in the late 18th century. One of the earliest advocates that pushed for gender equality in America was Judith Sargent Murray with her essay, “On the Equality of the Sexes”, which was published in 1779. Within her essay, Murray brings the issues of intellectual and spiritual…

Victorian Speaker's Lover

Although the messages within the second quatrain are quite similar to the first Rossetti gives the reader an insight into the character of the speaker's lover when she says "You tell me of our future you planned"(Rossetti 6). Her lover's nature can only be described as controlling due to her repetition of "you". Although he makes important decisions concerning her life it is all due to the popular norm that females were inferior to males which was popularly accepted during the Victorian…

Argumentative Essay On Women's Rights Movement

A woman by default was expected to be a loving a wife and mother with strong religious values and morality, it is her obligation. The ideal of a woman has not really changed from what it was two centuries ago, but in the United States there has been an effort to tear down the gender-roles that have been established. A woman now might be expected to become the “Martha Stewart” of her home, but if she chooses not to it is not a big deal. Additionally she is able to pursue an education and obtain any job she chooses. However, it would not have been possible if the women of earlier decades have been conformists with their status.…

Related Topics

• Victorian era

Ready To Get Started?

• Create Flashcards
• Mobile apps
•   Facebook
•   Twitter
• Cookie Settings