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Come buy, come buy
- Each night, the sisters and the other maids who live in their town hear the sounds of goblins singing “Come buy, come buy.” These goblin men sell tempting, exotic fruit to unsuspecting young girls.
www.owleyes.org/text/goblin-market
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They are simply a fixture of the unidentified, idyllic, rural environment in which the poem is set, and seem to exist only in order to tempt young women into buying and eating their fruit. The way the goblins describe their fruit is pointedly sexual and suggestive of ripeness and voluptuousness.
- Themes
“Goblin Market” is a complex poetic allegory about sexual...
- Themes
- First Stanza
- Second Stanza
- Third Stanza
- Fourth Stanza
- Fifth Stanza
- Sixth Stanza
- Seventh Stanza
- Eighth Stanza
- Ninth Stanza
- Tenth Stanza
Straight away in this first section of ‘Goblin Market,‘ we see one of its prevalent themes. The fact that it states that maids hear the goblins cry. Why is it only maids that hear this? For some reason, the female gender seems to be the only one represented here. Could the goblins themselves then represent masculinity? This is just the first of man...
Once again the evening is mentioned but this time it is not mentioned alongside the morning. Is there significance to this? We also see the scene starting to be set in the second line by mentioning that there are rushes nearby. In these two lines, we are introduced to the poem’s two main characters and see displayed their very different personaliti...
I think in these first two lines the true dynamic between the girls is really revealed. I think they are both wary of the Goblins but it appears that it is in fact Laura who has the sense of curiosity whereas Lizzie is in fact the more sensible of the two. It is strange why it is so important that the girls don’t even look at the Goblins. The reaso...
The fourth stanza of ‘Goblin Market’is used to describe Laura’s reaction to seeing the Goblins. Rather than being reviled by them. After all the descriptions of them weren’t exactly pleasant. She once again seems to be drawn to them. Her actions are not the actions of somebody who is scared or repulsed. They describe the actions of somebody who is ...
The first part of this fifth stanza described the goblin men’s actions. The first line gives us another clue as to the setting. It is clever how Rossetti sets a scene by “drip feeding” little snippets of information pertaining to the environment. So we get to see our image of the location develop as the poem does. The narrative at this point has cl...
I really like the description in the first line of this stanza. The image it gives of Laura is of someone who really can’t refuse sweet things and we see further evidence of this as the poem continues. The narrationthen slips into dialogue, which quite fascinatingly is referred to as being hasty, I think the intonation here is that she shouldn’t ha...
It would appear then that Lizzie had been concerned about Laura (Who we assume is her sister as they live together) as she had been waiting at the gate. The likelihood is then for all of Laura’s supposed discombobulation she was not in fact gone for very long. Lizzie would likely not have been waiting around if Laura had been gone a long time. She ...
There is a slight ambiguity as to the nature of this stanza as it seems a little out of place. Although my interpretation of it is that it describes Lizzie and Laura as they sleep. The descriptions of the two girls give them the appearance of being pure and virtuous. It gives the impression of a very quiet night which may well be just the calm befo...
This is a little bit of a red flag. Why is the cock’s crow being described as a warning? This creates a sense of tension. Also, this could be considered a vague biblical reference. Remember in the bible the tale of the cock crowing three times when Peter denied knowing Jesus. This describes the actions of the girls during their daytime. At first, t...
This is what Lizzie has been waiting for! The girls visit the brook in order to gather water. This is clearly not an experience that Lizzie is enjoying. Laura on the other hand is atypically excited. Lizzie tries to hurry the experience on, wary of what might happen whereas Laura is keen to stay as she wants to see the Goblin men and sample more of...
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3 days ago · Literary Theories and “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti. Goblin Market can be analyzed as a critique of Victorian expectations of women’s purity and sexuality. The poem explores female autonomy, especially through Lizzie’s resilience against the goblins, and the solidarity shared between the sisters.
Feb 17, 2021 · “Goblin Market” may be a children’s poem, but like everything the children hear, it is sung by the goblin men, the inevitable emblems of age and death.
The best study guide to Goblin Market on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.
Morning and evening Maids heard the goblins cry: “Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy: Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpeck’d cherries, Melons and raspberries, Bloom-down-cheek’d peaches, Swart-headed mulberries, Wild free-born cranberries, Crab-apples, dewberries,…
Feb 4, 2024 · “Goblin Market,” with its rich mix of themes ranging from the dangers of consumerism and the exploitation of women, to the sanctity of sisterhood and the possibility of redemption, remains a testament to Rossetti’s genius and the enduring appeal of Victorian literature.