Winter: My Secret Lyrics
Perhaps some day, who knows?
But not today; it froze, and blows and snows,
And you're too curious: fie!
You want to hear it? well:
Only, my secret's mine, and I won't tell.
Or, after all, perhaps there's none:
Suppose there is no secret after all,
But only just my fun.
Today's a nipping day, a biting day;
In which one wants a shawl,
A veil, a cloak, and other wraps:
I cannot ope to everyone who taps,
And let the draughts come whistling thro' my hall;
Come bounding and surrounding me,
Come buffeting, astounding me,
Nipping and clipping thro' my wraps and all.
I wear my mask for warmth: who ever shows
His nose to Russian snows
To be pecked at by every wind that blows?
You would not peck? I thank you for good will,
Believe, but leave the truth untested still.
Spring's an expansive time: yet I don't trust
March with its peck of dust,
Nor April with its rainbow-crowned brief showers,
Nor even May, whose flowers
One frost may wither thro' the sunless hours.
About
Title
The colon in the title seems to be used to equate or suggest a semblance between two things: the winter and the speaker’s privacy.
The tone is coy, playful and teasing. The speaker addresses an unknown listener, engaging in dialogue, but refusing to reveal what she has to tell, despite the listener’s pleading.
The gender of the speaker isn’t specified but it is likely to be a woman, citing as evidence the references to a ‘shawl’ and a ‘veil’, clothing associated with women.
What is the secret?
Who knows? But the poem seems to strongly suggest that it involves the speaker’s romantic feelings for someone. Whatever it is, it needs to be revealed at the right time–the right season of the year, and perhaps the right moment of the speaker’s emotional life.
Structure
The poem comprises three stanzas of uneven length, with lines also of uneven length. The majority of lines are end-stopped, creating a sense of an assertive, confident speaker. There is no consistent metrical rhythm.
The rhyme scheme is complex.
1st: ABBACC
2nd: DEDFEGGEHHEIIIJJ
3rd: KKLLL
4th: FMMNNFM
It would, perhaps, be more helpful to say that there is rough pattern of rhyming couplets and triplets. This gives the otherwise loosely structured poem some unity and coherence.
Language and Imagery
The voice, that of the first person singular ‘I’, is teasing and provocative, yet revealing nothing.
The poem works primarily through symbolism and metaphor. So winter and spring, for example, each have their character and significance. Clothing, e.g. veil and shawl represent secretiveness and disguise. The door imagery appears in other Rossetti poems, for example in Shut Out represents a barrier which the poet or other agency controls.
The pronoun ‘I’ is important. The poet is in control and her identity is what she holds to firmly. Note that ‘I’ appears at the beginning and the end. She will not reveal her secret unless she is ready.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 3.Dream-land
- 4.At Home
- 7.Winter Rain
- 8.A Dirge
- 9.Confluents
- 10.Noble Sisters
- 11.Spring
- 13.A Birthday
- 14.Remember
- 15.After Death
- 16.An End
- 17.My Dream
- 18.Song I
- 20.A Summer Wish
- 22.Song II
- 23.Maude Clare
- 24.Echo
- 25.Winter: My Secret
- 26.Another Spring
- 27.A Peal of Bells
- 28.Fata Morgana
- 30.May
- 32.Twilight Calm
- 33.Wife to Husband
- 34.Three Seasons
- 35.Mirage
- 36.Shut out
- 37.Sound Sleep
- 38.Song III
- 39.Song IV
- 41.Bitter for Sweet
- 43.Rest
- 46.Up-hill
- 50.Advent
- 52.One Certainty
- 54.Sweet Death
- 55.Symbols
- 57.The World
- 58.A Testimony
- 59.Sleep At Sea
- 62.Amen
- 63.Mother Country
- 65.Maiden-Song
- 66.Jessie Cameron
- 67.Spring Quiet
- 68.The Poor Ghost
- 69.A Portrait
- 70.Dream-Love
- 71.Twice
- 75.One Day
- 78.“To-day for Me”
- 79.On the Wing
- 80.Consider
- 81.Beauty is Vain
- 82.Maggie a Lady
- 84.The Bourne
- 85.Summer
- 86.Autumn
- 88.Memory
- 89.A Royal Princess
- 90.Shall I Forget?
- 92.L. E. L.
- 93.Life and Death
- 94.Bird or Beast?
- 95.Eve
- 96.Grown and Flown
- 97.A Farm Walk
- 99.A Chill
- 101.Gone for Ever
- 102.Under the Rose
- 103.Song V
- 104.By the Sea
- 105.Days of Vanity
- 106.Enrica, 1865
- 107.Once for All
- 108.Autumn Violets
- 110.A Green Cornfield
- 111.A Bride Song
- 112.The Lowest Room
- 113.Dead Hope
- 114.A Daughter of Eve
- 115.Venus’ Looking-Glass
- 116.Love lies Bleeding
- 117.Bird Raptures
- 118.My Friend
- 119.Twilight Night
- 120.A Bird Song
- 121.A Smile And A Sigh
- 123.A Christmas Carol
- 125.Paradise
- 127.Saints And Angels
- 129.After Communion
- 133.Long Barren
- 134.If Only
- 135.Dost Thou Not Care?
- 136.Weary in Well-Doing
- 137.Martyrs’ Song
- 139.Good Friday
- 140.The Lowest Place
- 142.The Key-Note
- 144.Pastime
- 147.A Ballad of Boding
- 148.Yet A Little While
- 149.He And She
- 150.Monna Innominata
- 152.De Profundis
- 153.Tempus Fugit
- 154.Golden Glories
- 155.Johnny
- 157.Maiden May
- 158.Till To-Morrow
- 159.Death-Watches
- 160.Touching “Never”
- 161.Brandons Both
- 162.A Life’s Parallels
- 163.At Last
- 164.Golden Silences
- 165.In The Willow Shade
- 166.Fluttered Wings
- 167.A Fisher-Wife
- 168.What’s in A Name?
- 169.Mariana
- 170.Memento Mori
- 172.Buds And Babies
- 173.Boy Johnny
- 174.Freaks of Fashion
- 175.An October Garden
- 176.“Summer is Ended”
- 177.Passing And Glassing
- 178.“I Will Arise”
- 179.A Prodigal Son
- 181.An “Immurata” Sister
- 183.The Thread of Life
- 184.An Old-World Thicket
- 188.Until The Day Break
- 190.“Behold The Man!”
- 192.“It is Finished”
- 193.An Easter Carol
- 194.“Behold A Shaking”
- 195.All Saints
- 196.“Take Care of Him”
- 197.A Martyr
- 198.Why?
- 201.One Sea-Side Grave
- 202.Brother Bruin
- 203.“A Helpmeet For Him”
- 204.A Song of Flight
- 205.A Wintry Sonnet
- 206.Resurgam
- 207.To-Day’s Burden
- 209.Exultate Deo.
- 210.A Hope Carol
- 211.Christmas Carols
- 212.A Candlemas Dialogue
- 214.Patience of Hope