from the beginning of the brotherhood's formation in 1848, their pieces of art included subjects of noble or religious disposition. their aim was to communicate a message of "moral reform" through the style of their works, exhibiting a "truth to nature". specifically in rossetti's "hand and soul," written in 1849, he displays his main character chiaro as an artist with spiritual inclinations. in the text, chiaro's spirit appears before him in the form of a woman who instructs him to "set thine hand and thy soul to serve man with god." the rossetti archive defines this text as "rossetti's way of constellating his commitments to art, religious devotion, and a thoroughly secular historicism." likewise, in "the blessed damozel," written between 1847 and 1870, rossetti uses biblical language such as "from the gold bar of heaven" to describe the damozel looking down to earth from heaven. here we see a connection between body and soul, mortal and supernatural, a common theme in rossetti's works. in "ave" (1847), mary awaits the day that she will meet her son in heaven, uniting the earthly with the heavenly. the text highlights a strong element in anglican marian theology that describes mary's body and soul having been assumed into heaven.