Christina Rossetti's poem “Uphill” is an allegory of sorts as well as a dialogue between two people. One person is asking about a long, hard journey that the other has apparently already taken. The second person answers each question clearly and concisely.

The second person confirms that the traveler will indeed take an uphill road “the whole day long.” Then the questioner wonders if there will be a “resting-place” at night. The answerer assures the person that there will be such a spot and says that they “cannot miss that inn.” The answerer adds that there will be other wayfarers there, those “who have gone before,” and they will allow the traveler in at once. There the traveler will find comfort in proportion to the labor exerted, and there will be “beds for all who come.”

This is certainly a fine reassurance on a literal level, for we always want a warm welcome and a place to rest comfortably after a hard journey. But there is more to this poem than the literal level. The journey described here is life itself. The inn at the end of the journey symbolizes heaven. If the traveler perseveres along the difficult path of life, they will not miss the inn if they are a seeker who longs for a resting place with sincerity.

The darkness cannot hide this inn from the traveler who is looking for it, and others who have reached heaven first will be on hand to greet the newcomer. In this inn that is heaven, all earthly labor will be rewarded with comfort and peace, and there are places for all who come. This last line alludes to Jesus's words in John 14:2: “In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”