An Analysis of Lilith (Bodys Beauty) :: Lilith Essays

An Analysis of Lilith (Body's Beauty) First published in 1868 in Swinburne's pamphlet-review, "Notes on the Royal Academy Exhibition," the sonnet entitled "Lilith" was written to accompany the painting "Lady Lilith." The poem and picture appeared alongside Rossetti's painting "Sibylla Palmifera" and the sonnet "Soul's Beauty," which was written for it. In 1870, both of these poems were published among the "Sonnets for Pictures" section of Rossetti's Poems. In 1881, however, "it occurred to Rossetti to contrast the two as representatives of fleshly and spiritual beauty," and thus he transferred them to "The House of Life" (Baum 181). The Lilith sonnet was then renamed "Body's Beauty" in order to highlight the contrast between it and "Soul's Beauty," and the two were placed sequentially in "The House of Life" (sonnets number 77 and 78). Because Rossetti originally named the sonnet "Lilith" and only changed the name to highlight the contrast between it and "Soul's Beauty," this study will refer to it by its original name. "Lilith" reads as follows: Of Adam's first wife, Lilith, it is told (The witch he loved before the gift of Eve,) That, ere the snake's, her sweet tongue could deceive, And her enchanted hair was the first gold. And still she sits, young while the earth is old, And, subtly of herself contemplative, Draws men to watch the bright web she can weave, Till heart and body and life are in its hold. The rose and poppy are her flower; for where Is he not found, O Lilith, whom shed scent And soft-shed kisses and soft sleep shall snare? Lo! as that youth's eyes burned at thine, so went Thy spell through him, and left his straight neck bent And round his heart one strangling golden hair. (Collected Works, 216). Much like "Lady Lilith," "Lilith" celebrates the pleasures of physicality. As an enchantress, she "draws men to watch the bright web she can weave," but she does not invite them to be mere voyeurs of her charms (line 7). Instead, she invites them to her and then ensnares them in her "web" of physical beauty, ultimately causing their death (line 8). "Subtly of herself contemplative," a phrase echoing Pater's famous description of the "Mona Lisa," highlights Lilith's attitude of "voluptuous self applause," an attitude which was so visually apparent in Rossetti's painting (Baum 185).