Themes Presented in Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti Essay -- Gobli

Themes Presented in Goblin Market by Christina RossettiChristina Rossettis used her poetry to express herself her workexhibits many autobiographical elements and from it the reader candiscern Rossettis emotions, beliefs and her comments on the societyshe lived in. As a female poet it would have been improper forRossetti to deal directly with these issues though and so her ideasare masked through appearing to be childrens poetry and having simplemeanings. Goblin Market superficially appears to a moral story about 2 sisters one of whom gives elbow room to the temptation of the goblinsforbidden fruits but through her poetic techniques Rossetti manages toembody her fears and desires.One of the desires Rossetti appears to have in this metrical composition is for arelationship similar to that of Lizzie and Laura the closing lines ofthe poem express the joys of having a sister To fetch one if one goesastray, but Rossetti had only brothers. This theme of friendship iscrucial to the plot of the poem and perchance Rossetti yearns for someoneshe can feel close to. Rossetti shows the difference between the loveLaura has for the goblins fruits and the love between the sistersthrough the use of parallelism. While Laura sucked the goblinsfruits until her lips were sore showing Lauras voraciousness as she givesway to temptation and gives a strongly physical image, Lizzie callingHug me, kiss me, suck my juices / Squeezed from goblin fruits foryou brings to mind Lizzies self-sacrifice - the difference ofLauras craving for the juices and Lizzies love for her sister isapparent. The image by Rossetti describing the sisters Like twopigeons in one nest creates a strong impression of the closenessbetween the two s... ...n comingbefore love in Rossettis life.Goblin Market contains many of the key themes that appear throughoutRossettis poetry. In typical Rossettian style it appears almostsuperfluous on eldest reading but subtexts hidden within it. The casualrhyming scheme suggest s that the work is a aimed at being childrenspoetry but the issues it deals with are clear adult. Early in thepoem Laura is described as rearing her glossy head and much later onLizzie is referred to as being stubborn as a horse thisdemonstrates that through repetition and subtle parallels Rossettimanages to show how both sisters are so similar and yet so far apart.Christina Rossettis use of poetic devices allows Goblin Market towork on several levels allowing her to write poetry both acceptable tothe society she lived in while also allowing her to express herself.