Illustration for the cover of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Overview

• Author: Christina Rossetti (sister of the Pre-Raphaelite artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti who illustrated her poems)

• Date: 1862 (Victorian)

• Genre: Narrative poem

Characters

• Lizzie (the "wise" one)

• Laura (the one who indulges in the fruits)

• The Goblin Men

• Jeanie (the other "fallen" woman in the story; she wasted away after eating the Goblin's fruits)

Themes

• female sexuality and the "fallen" woman

• predatory male sexuality

• sexual/sensual frenzy

• temptation

• addiction

• lesbianism

• anti-capitalism/anti-consumerism

Discussion Questions

• Consider the poem as a cautionary tale. What is the "message"?

• What does the fruit represent? Consider how it is presented/marketed, what effect it has on the women who eat it, and its physical characteristics (smell, taste, texture, pulp, and juices).

• Discuss the characterizations in this poem. Is Laura a victim? Are the Goblin Men villains? What is the role of Lizzie?

• How is sexuality, both male and female, represented in this poem?

• Is this a Christian poem with a Christian message and Christian archetypes? or is it an anti-consumerism/anti-capitalism poem? or is it a feminist poem? or is it a fairy tale?

• How does the poem depict men and women? what are the defining characteristics of men and women according the poem?

• Discuss Laura and Lizzie as both "rebel" lesbian lovers and as "traditional" wives and mothers.