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

Themes Presented in Goblin Market by Christina RossettiChristina Rossettis used her poesy to announce herself her workexhibits many autobiographical elements and from it the reader can fill out Rossettis emotions, beliefs and her comments on the societyshe lived in. As a female poet it would have been inappropriate forRossetti to deal directly with these issues though and so her ideasargon masked through appearing to be childrens poetry and having simplemeanings. Goblin Market superficially appears to a virtuous story abouttwo sisters one of whom gives way to the temptation of the goblins prohibit fruits solely through her poetical techniques Rossetti manages toembody her fears and desires.One of the desires Rossetti appears to have in this poem 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 t he poem and perhaps Rossetti yearns for someoneshe can feel close to. Rossetti shows the difference between the experienceLaura 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 exhibit Lauras greed 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 selflessness - the difference ofLauras lust for the juices and Lizzies love for her sister isapparent. The image by Rossetti describing the sisters want twopigeons in one nest creates a strong belief 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 air it appears almostsuperfluous on first reading but subtexts secluded within it. The casualrhyming scheme suggests that the w ork is a aimed at being childrenspoetry but the issues it deals with are distinctly adult. Early in thepoem Laura is described as rearing her glossy head and a lot 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 delicious tothe society she lived in while also allowing her to express herself.