Our presentation will focus on “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti. “Goblin Market” is a narrative poem that follows an irregular meter and rhyme scheme. There are a few times the poem has rhyming lines, but it is not constant. The poem follows two sisters, Lizzie and Laura, who begin the poem trying to resist the “goblin men” who call to them to buy their fruit. Despite Lizzie’s warnings and the death of Jeanie due to the goblins, Laura gives into the temptation of the goblin men and eats their fruit. Then, Laura wishes to eat the fruit again, but she cannot hear the goblin men anymore. After her failure to eat the fruit again, she becomes weak and sick. Lizzie, after seeing her sister sick from the absence of the fruit, goes out to get the fruit for her sister. Unfortunately, the goblin men will not allow her to buy the fruit if she does not eat it with them. After Lizzie refuses to eat with them, they attack her and try to force her to eat the fruit by crushing the fruit onto her mouth. This results in the juice of the fruit covering her skin. The goblin men eventually give up after their barbaric attack and let Lizzie leave, covered in juice, with her penny. Then, Lizzie returns to Laura, and she allows her sister to drink the juice off of her skin. This ultimately saves Laura’s life. The poem ends with a description of the two sisters telling their own daughters about the goblin men and the importance of sisters.
We will cover the Rre-Raphaelite-ism that was emerging during the time of Christina Rossetti. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina’s brother, illustrated the poem and was one of the founding members of this movement (or as they called it, brotherhood). The Pre-Raphaelites were trying to return to the elements that could be found before the art of Raphael and to create art that expressed truth of nature and emotion.
There is an element of Fantasy that is evident in "Goblin Market." A few pieces of fantasy literature that were released before “Goblin Market” were: The Fairy Mythology and “A Peep at the Goblins." However, there is also an allusion to Christianity found in the narrative.
Gender is also heavily emphasized in “Goblin Market.” Christina Rossetti worked with what is described as “fallen women,” which gives us an idea as to why she focused her poem on the trials these two girls face. Similarly, Christina focuses on the importance of sisterhood. This can be traced to her relationship with her own sister, Maria.
work cited:
Rossetti, Christina. "Goblin Market." 1862. Cove Studios, https://studio.covecollective.org/documents/goblin-market-750a5766-7768-..., Accessed 11 March 2023.
"The Pre-Raphaelites." The Art Story. https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pre-raphaelites/, Accessed 12 March 2023.