Talk:Christina Rossetti/GA1

GA review

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Nominator: ArthurTheGardener (talk · contribs) 16:43, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Tim riley (talk · contribs) 11:58, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Starting review

Me again! Beginning first read-through. More anon. Tim riley talk 11:58, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

The use of Christian names rather than surnames is ticklish, but I think you have got it right. Otherwise only one possible red flag here, but I have a few optional suggestions you may like to consider.

• You are curiously inconsistent about using commas with adverbs and adverbial phrases at the beginning of sentences. Thus, among others,

• "In the 1840s, the Rossetti family (with comma)
• "From 1842 onward Christina began collecting (without comma)
• "In 1847 Christina's grandfather (without comma)
• "Between 1864 and 1866, Christina became (with comma)
• "In her later decades, Christina suffered (with comma)

I share the view of Plain Words that on the principle that stops should not be used unless they are needed these AmE-style commas are not wanted here. But consistency either way would be good.

• Other points:

• "born on 5 December, 1830" – why the comma? Not customary in BrE.
• "the newly opened Regent's Park, which Christina visited regularly" – "regularly" as in at predetermined intervals or do you just mean "frequently", as in "often"?
• "increasing financial troubles due to a deterioration" – In AmE "due to" is accepted as a compound preposition on a par with "owing to", but in BrE it is not universally so regarded. "Owing to" or, better, "because of" is safer.
• "Of labor you shall find the sum" – jarring use of American spelling: see this and this for the correct English spelling.
• "It has been suggested that Christina's 1860 poem" – This has the look of a weasly phrase about it and I think it would be as well to say inline who suggested it and when.
• " was lauded by Gerard Manley Hopkins, Algernon Charles Swinburne and Tennyson" – seems odd to give the first two their Christian names but to render the third by surname alone.
• "After its publication, Christina Rossetti was named the natural successor to Elizabeth Barrett Browning" – this is one point I am really bothered by. Who named her, on what authority, and how widely was the nomination recognised?
• "including the poet Swinburne" – he has a blue link earlier and doesn't need another here.
• "the linguist Charles Cayley" – I never know what a linguist is: is it someone fluent in foreign languages or someone expert in linguistics?
• "his appearance of sobriety and purity was emphasized" – but modern BrE "idealised" elsewhere.
• "Academics studying her work in the 1970s saw beyond the lyrical sweetness to her mastery of prosody and versification." – Who says so? Without a citation this is pure WP:OR.

That's all from me. Over to you. I shan't bother putting the review on hold unless you would like me to. – Tim riley talk 12:48, 11 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your useful comments, Tim riley: I'll get to fixing these issues as soon as I can. That may be in a few days, as I'm just about to go into hospital to have my tricky hip fixed, but I'll have plenty of editing time afterwards! ArthurTheGardener (talk) 08:02, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

All the best for your hip operation! I think they are pretty good at it these days. Tim riley talk 08:33, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

All's good, thank you, Tim riley, and I think I've addressed those problems now. I'd be interested in your further thoughts, when you have time. ArthurTheGardener (talk) 08:34, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Note

See above. The nominator may be hors de combat for a while, and I do not propose to put the review formally on hold as there is very little wrong with the article as it stands, and I'll keep the review open until ArthurTheGardener is back on parade. Tim riley talk 17:58, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

Well, that went well. The citations will do at GA level, but if you were taking the article to FAC you'd need to address the capitalisation of Book and webpage titles. Whatever the publishers may have done, we capitalise the lot: so "Christina Rossetti: the patience of style" would be tweaked to "Christina Rossetti: The Patience of Style" and "CHRISTINA ROSSETTI: Learning Not to Be First" would be changed to "Christina Rossetti: Learning Not to Be First" (and you could make ref 44 consistent with refs 39–41 or are they two different editions?) At FAC level you'd also need to rationalise the bibliographic details of your Sources section – some missing locations and some missing ISBNs. But what we have got here now meets the GA criteria, in my view. I am pleased to promote the article to GA:

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose quality:

   B. MoS compliance for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and lists:

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. References to sources:

   Well referenced.

   B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary:

   Well referenced.

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Major aspects:

   B. Focused:

4. Is it neutral?

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:

   Well illustrated.

   B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:

   Well illustrated.

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

PS: I was at Rufford Old Hall at the weekend and was pleased to see poems by Rossetti, in beautiful handwriting, attached to stakes in some of the flowerbeds – a nice touch by National Trust staff. I hope you are doing well after your hip operation. Tim riley talk 10:32, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi Tim riley, and thanks for getting to this so quickly. I'll have a look at the points you made and address what I can - so far I'm doing well, I have plenty of painkillers and an excellent physio, so it will be nice to have a project or two to keep working on while I recover. I'll make a point of dropping by Rufford Old Hall once I get back on my feet - I know it well. The gardens are spectacular! ArthurTheGardener (talk) 11:40, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

AtG, I'll pass on your comment about the gardens at Rufford to my brother, who is a volunteer gardener there one day a week. I think he'll be chuffed at the unsolicited testimonial. I wish you a speedy return to mobility. Tim riley talk 11:47, 14 April 2026 (UTC)