The Blessed Damozel

Love's Luck Lost

Much like his sister, Christina Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti was a poet who embraced religious overtones and classical forms, as evidenced by "The Blessed Damozel" and its ballad form. To that mix, though, he added a recurring theme of heartbreak. In poems like "The Portrait" and ""Jenny," he explored the notion of how love survives (or doesn't) in the face of circumstances beyond the lovers' control (like, you know, death).

They don't always have happy endings, but Rossetti's poems are known for being moving explorations of love being lost. If you read more of them, be sure to keep a hanky handy.