Week Five Response - PICTURING POETRY IN CONTEXT: GOBLIN MARKET

What interested me this week when exploring Goblin Market once again was the wide range of variations of the text. I specifically focused on the illustrations that were done by George Gershinwitz in "The Chlldren's Rossetti," Christina Rossetti and Illustration. I learned particularly in my edition that the themes were originally aimed for children, but due to their erotic themes they were then more marketed towards adults. This surprised me due to the common assumption that picture books would be produced for a younger demographic. The theme of fantasy was also common in these texts, using bright watercolour illustrations to help the reader follow along easier. Looking at the variations of the text over time not only show the historical importance around the Goblin Market, but how it can be incredibly versatile. It was able to be reconstructed and reprinted numerous times with different illustrators in order to be adapted for different audiences. The wide range of differences between the illustrations, such as Gershinwitz's being incredibly bright and colourful and other being more dull and in black and white, shows the vast amount of ways that the Goblin Market can be expanded towards numerous readers. 

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