COVE

Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market was published in the “Ribald Classics” feature in Playboy Magazine in 1973 which introduced many pieces of classic literature to Playboy readers. Goblin Market is marketed to Playboy’s audience by highlighted the erotic elements of the poem both in the editorial introduction constructing a version of Goblin Market that highlights its place as both a nursery poem as well as an erotic tale. The poem is not printed in full; rather, it is condensed to better suit the magazine’s general article length. The article includes four canvas paintings by Kinuko Craft, a world-renowned fantasy artist born in Japan on January 3rd, 1940. The images were hand painted by Craft on canvas, then resized for the magazine. The paintings further emphasize the erotic elements of Rossetti’s poem through illustrating scenes from the poem — including Laura’s encounter with the goblins, Lizzie’s attack, as well as Lizzie and Laura’s reunion — as sexual events.

Primary Source: “Christina for the Connoisseur” in Christina Rossetti and Illustration: A Publishing History (pp. 240-242).