"Winter: My Secret" is Christina Rossetti's strange, teasing, playful tale of the power of mystery. The poem's speaker tantalizes her listener with the idea that she's got a big secret, one she'll never tell. The more she insists that she wants her privacy, the more fascinated her listener gets. This, the poem hints, is precisely what the speaker is hoping for. Rossetti first published this poem in her important 1862 collection Goblin Market and Other Poems.
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The Full Text of “Winter: My Secret”
1I tell my secret? No indeed, not I:
2Perhaps some day, who knows?
3But not today; it froze, and blows, and snows,
4And you're too curious: fie!
5You want to hear it? well:
6Only, my secret's mine, and I won’t tell.
7Or, after all, perhaps there's none:
8Suppose there is no secret after all,
9But only just my fun.
10To-day's a nipping day, a biting day;
11In which one wants a shawl,
12A veil, a cloak, and other wraps:
13I cannot ope to every one who taps,
14And let the draughts come whistling through my hall;
15Come bounding and surrounding me,
16Come buffeting, astounding me,
17Nipping and clipping through my wraps and all.
18I wear my mask for warmth: who ever shows
19His nose to Russian snows
20To be pecked at by every wind that blows?
21You would not peck? I thank you for good will,
22Believe, but leave that truth untested still.
23Spring's an expansive time: yet I don’t trust
24March with its peck of dust,
25Nor April with its rainbow-crowned brief showers,
26Nor even May, whose flowers
27One frost may wither through the sunless hours.
28Perhaps some languid summer day,
29When drowsy birds sing less and less,
30And golden fruit is ripening to excess,
31If there's not too much sun nor too much cloud,
32And the warm wind is neither still nor loud,
33Perhaps my secret I may say,
34Or you may guess.
The Full Text of “Winter: My Secret”
1I tell my secret? No indeed, not I:
2Perhaps some day, who knows?
3But not today; it froze, and blows, and snows,
4And you're too curious: fie!
5You want to hear it? well:
6Only, my secret's mine, and I won’t tell.
7Or, after all, perhaps there's none:
8Suppose there is no secret after all,
9But only just my fun.
10To-day's a nipping day, a biting day;
11In which one wants a shawl,
12A veil, a cloak, and other wraps:
13I cannot ope to every one who taps,
14And let the draughts come whistling through my hall;
15Come bounding and surrounding me,
16Come buffeting, astounding me,
17Nipping and clipping through my wraps and all.
18I wear my mask for warmth: who ever shows
19His nose to Russian snows
20To be pecked at by every wind that blows?
21You would not peck? I thank you for good will,
22Believe, but leave that truth untested still.
23Spring's an expansive time: yet I don’t trust
24March with its peck of dust,
25Nor April with its rainbow-crowned brief showers,
26Nor even May, whose flowers
27One frost may wither through the sunless hours.
28Perhaps some languid summer day,
29When drowsy birds sing less and less,
30And golden fruit is ripening to excess,
31If there's not too much sun nor too much cloud,
32And the warm wind is neither still nor loud,
33Perhaps my secret I may say,
34Or you may guess.
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“Winter: My Secret” Summary
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“Winter: My Secret” Themes
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Secrecy and Power
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Winter: My Secret”
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Lines 1-6
I tell my secret? No indeed, not I:
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. -
Lines 7-9
Or, after all, perhaps there's none:
Suppose there is no secret after all,
But only just my fun. -
Lines 10-17
To-day's a nipping day, a biting day;
In which one wants a shawl,
A veil, a cloak, and other wraps:
I cannot ope to every one who taps,
And let the draughts come whistling through my hall;
Come bounding and surrounding me,
Come buffeting, astounding me,
Nipping and clipping through my wraps and all. -
Lines 18-22
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 that truth untested still. -
Lines 23-27
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 through the sunless hours. -
Lines 28-34
Perhaps some languid summer day,
When drowsy birds sing less and less,
And golden fruit is ripening to excess,
If there's not too much sun nor too much cloud,
And the warm wind is neither still nor loud,
Perhaps my secret I may say,
Or you may guess.
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“Winter: My Secret” Symbols
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Winter and Cold
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Clothing
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“Winter: My Secret” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Repetition
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Irony
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Personification
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Rhetorical Question
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“Winter: My Secret” 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.
- Fie
- Well
- Nipping
- Ope
- Taps
- Draughts
- Bounding
- Buffeting
- Astounding
- Clipping
- Believe, but leave that truth untested still
- Expansive
- Peck
- The sunless hours
- Languid
- Drowsy
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Winter: My Secret”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Winter: My Secret” Speaker
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“Winter: My Secret” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Winter: My Secret”
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More “Winter: My Secret” Resources
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External Resources
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A Brief Biography — Learn more about Rossetti's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.
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Portraits of Rossetti — See paintings and photos of Rossetti (some of them portraits by her artist brother) via London's National Portrait Gallery.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
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Rossetti at the Victorian Web — Visit the Victorian Web to find a treasure trove of Rossetti resources.
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Rossetti's Reception — Learn about how Rossetti was received in her time in this appreciation, written not long after her death.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Christina Rossetti
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