Seduction and Lust in Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market Essay

Seduction and Lust in Christina Rossettis Goblin Market A seemingly innocent poem about deuce sisters encounters with goblin men, Christina Rossettis Goblin Market is a tale of seduction and lust. Behind the lattice of the classic mortal entrapment and escapement from fairyland, Goblin Market explores Lauras craving for heterosexual knowledge, the goblin mens desire for mortal flesh, and Laura and Lizzies desire for homosexual eroticism. Goblin men fascinate the sisters Laura and Lizzie, innocent virgins who were taught not to chirrup at goblin men (Rossetti, l. 49). Predominantly iambic tetrametric, Goblin Market follows a convoluted rhyming scheme and includes many enjambments, repetitions, and dialogues. This experimental form readily lends itself to natural storytelling and mirrors the experimentation of Laura and Lizzie. Laura, more curious than her sister, chooses to linger/Wondering at each merchant man (ll. 69-70). This curiosity and longing is ex pressed through Rossettis use of diction and rhyme in describing the girls clasping arms and cautioning lips,/With tingling cheeks and finger tips (ll. 38-39 italics mine). Laura is tempted to taste the luscious grapes the goblins peddle, though she acknowledges that the fruits hungry thirsty roots grow on alien soils (l. 45). Lauras repetition of Look, Lizzie, look, Lizzie betrays her restless longings. The consecutive commencements with the word one and the assonance on the vowel O in the lines describing the goblins set the tone of goad One hauls a basket,/One bears a plate,/One lugs a golden dish/Of many pounds weight (ll. 54-59). This technique, like a refrain, punctuates the entire poem and Laura, wi... ...nd dew-wet slew (ll. 532-533). As with the girls experiences with the goblin men, this homoerotic experience is like a dream (l. 537). Laura and Lizzie, by sharing of themselves, discover that there is no friend like a sister (l. 562). Their love, redeeming and life giving, surpasses the seductive yet bitter fruits of the goblin men.Christina Rossettis Goblin Market, though punctuated with an air of innocence, is imbued with provocative imageries and rhymes. It encapsulates Lauras fearful yearnings for the goblins fruits, the goblins lascivious desire to entrap chaste mortals, and Laura and Lizzies feverish love that is neither vulgar nor ephemeral. Works Cited Rossetti, Christina. Goblin Market. Illustrated by Laurence Housman. 1893. New York Dover, 1983. Work ConsultedBellas, Ralph A. Christina Rossetti. capital of Massachusetts Twayne, 1977.