Alanna Kibiloski
Kibiloski 1
Ms. McGee
AP English 12
8 February 2008
Formal Criticism of Goblin Market
Christina Rossetti’s poem, Goblin Market, uses literary elements that allow the
reader to examine the close relationship between form and meaning within the work.
The tale of sisterhood and female companionship is lined with sexual and religious
connotations. The language and structure of the poem help to identify the themes of
the poem, while repetition, imagery, metaphors and similes, reveal the symbols and
implications of the work.
Goblin Market contains a theme of sexual nature and temptation that is
supported by the language and word choice of the poem. This theme of sexuality is
illustrated throughout the poem, starting at the very beginning of the poem. The
description of the fruit in the market is very enticing and tempting. Rossetti chooses
words like “luscious” and “plump” to describe the fruit in a very sensual manner.
Laura cannot resist the temptation and proceeds to consume the fruit “until her lips
were sore” and pays for the fruit with a lock of her hair. Later in the story Lizzie is
taunted by the goblin men, who also carry strong sexual overtones as they begin
“squeezing and caressing her”. They continue to ridicule her until they finally
become violent as they “Bullied and besought her, /Scratched her, pinched her black
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as ink”. The sexual language even continues once the goblins have left and Lizzie
returns to her sister, and inviting her ; “Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices…”
The structure of the poem is constructed of lines of varying length and meter
which represent the threatening and destabilizing effect of the goblins’ existence in
the sisters’ lives. The poem is framed by the repetition of the goblin’s cry to “Come
buy our orchard fruits”. This line, and its variances, arouse the maidens and reveal a
symbol of both pleasure and pain. In the poem, Rossetti describes two juxtaposed
worlds of innocence and experience, childhood and adulthood, feasting and fasting,
and life and death. The only link between the two worlds is the perpetual cry of the
goblin men.
Rossetti uses repeated clusters of similes throughout the poem to provide an
excess of description on one simple object. Each cluster seems to repeat the same
image, which in turn actually tends to deemphasize the object. “Laura stretched her
gleaming neck/ Like a rush-imbedded swan/ Like a lily from the beck/ Like a moonlit
poplar branch/ Like a vessel at the launch…” Each simile is not complex enough to
demonstrate Rossetti’s intended image alone, but as a whole is accomplishes the
task.
Listing is also an important literary device used in Goblin Market and is used
to describe some of the most significant events in the story. Lists help to establish
some of the Christian and biblical allusions apparent in the poem. It is used when
Rossetti describes the market at the start of the poem. This device helps to create a
tone and sense of overwhelming temptation. Lists can also be found as the goblins are
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taunting and bulling Lizzie as she sacrifices her body to save her sister. Listing is also
used to establish important symbols in the piece. The goblins are first described using
a list of animalistic qualities, helping to symbolize them as an inhuman embodiment
of evil, sin and the devil itself. Rossetti also depicts the goblin’s actions with the
same listing method. Once again this aids in the symbol of the goblin men as mindless
creatures who perform repeated actions in a tedious, miserable manner.
The overall tone of the poem is overwhelmingly haunting but contains a slight
glimmer of hope. The ever present goblin cry creates a lingering and tense state in
which the sisters feel trapped. Once Laura bites of the forbidden fruit, she is unable to
hear the “sugar- bated words” of the goblin’s call. Lizzie is then left to fend for
herself and fight the aggressive offer. Eventually the goblins give up and vanish along
with their previously unrelenting exhortation, relieving the distinct troubled tone of
the poem. It is at this point that the tone changes to one of admiration and love as the
sisters are reunited and move on with their lives.
Goblin Market is a complex poem that suggests a variety of meanings and
themes. Through the imaginative writing style of Christina Rossetti the poem can not
only be viewed as a work of children’s literature but as a rich, evocative, and great
work of art. Goblin Market uses literary devices to expose characterization, theme,
and profound meaning.