Goblin Market Pdf Questions and Answers Marks 5

Goblin Market Pdf Questions and Answers Marks 5

1. Q. Write a short note on the theme and the moral of Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market”.

Or,

What is the theme of the poem “Goblin Market”? Has the poem any moral to convey? Discuss.[Goblin Market Pdf Questions and Answers Marks 5]

Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market mainly deals with two girls Laura and Lizzie and their relationship with the Goblin market and the consequences thereof. The girls are difficult to define as how far they are children or adults. They are simply shown as without their parents and living together with love and affectionate attachment. The girls, somehow coming in contact with goblins, selling their fruits and leaves and other similar things.

The poem is mainly concerned with the effect of the hawking of the goblins on the two sisters. Though the poetess has not said distinctly about the nature of the goblins but follows the concept of the popular fairlytale. The goblins here is a sort of creature, not human beings, but have something of the human shape in their appearance. They are basically presented as magical creatures, notorious and vicious in nature and function. They are taken as mischiefmaking particularly with young women to their unwholesome temptation.

The theme of the poem presents the impact of the goblins on one of the sisters, Laura, who becomes a victim of the false charm of their fruit. The other sister Lizzie, however, resists their temptation. Though harrassed and insulted by the goblins, Lizzie readily resists their tempting approach and finally proves to be a redeemer of her sister Laura. The theme here deals with renunciation set against indulgence. spiritual steadiness against sextual attraction. The poem well presents how the feminine virtue is tried to be broken by the intrusion of men as also how this intrusion can be resisted and by the womanly asccticism and the feminine order and honour are reestablished. The insatiable craving for some irresistable desire is a grave wrong, as seen in Laura, and release from the same comes through the other sister Lizzie who redeems the unsound desire by courage and affection.

The theme of the poem contains a moral and that is struck in the high power of sisterhood. The desire for fulfilment gets destroyed and the net result is an insatiable craving for desired things. But the love between the sisters is restorative and one that gives chance for life. Christina Rossetti gives out the moral of her poem in the triumph of sisterhood in the concluding lines of the poem

“For there is no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather: To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands.”

2. Q. What account of the goblins and their function are given in Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market?

Or,

What idea do you form of the feature as well as nature of the goblins from your study of C.G. Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market?

According to the dictionary meaning, “goblin” means a small, ugly, mischievious creature, presented in the stories, meant for children, or what may be called the fairy tale, matters not real and common-place.

Miss Rossetti’s poem has the title Goblin Market. The title itself is suggestive of the importance of goblins in the poem. Rossetti does not go to elaborately describe the physical features of the goblins as her poem is concerned with their functions in it. Still she presents some hints about the very ugly and old appearance of those creatures, as presented in the lines below:

“Curious Laura chose to linger

Wondering at each merchant man , tail, One like a wombat prowled obtuse and furry, One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry.”

One had a cat’s face

One whisked a

One tramped at a rat’s pace,

One crawled like a snail,

Christina’s description particularly focuses the diverse oddities in the appearance of the goblins indicating enough curiosity about them.

Infact, the goblin is no human being. This is a sort of magical creature, rather, somewhat odd in appearance and mischievous in nature and function. Infact, as the poet bears out, goblins are found to revel in causing troubles and problems to human beings. It is evident, as such that they are no friend or well-wisher of the human being, but indulging, doing, or leading men to deception and wrong. Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market starts with the goblins, crying and selling their orchard fruits. They ask maids in particular to come and buy their articles. The very opening lines of the poem well bear this out:

“Morning and evening

Maids heard the goblins cry: , , Plump unpecked cherries.”

Come buy our orchard fruits

Come buy, come buy:

Apples and quinces

Lemons and oranges,

Christina’s poem shows how the notorious goblins try to tempt and seduce the young maids and sisters Laura and Lizzie. Initially, the sisters try to overlook them by their cautious avoidance of their loud cry of vendering. The girls carry on their usual homework as normally as possible. But the wicked goblins are desperate and finally succeed in dr wing the sister Laura to their market. They display and try to allure her to their wares (Flops T). Laura pleads that she has no money to pay them the cost of their fruit. They, however, ask for a single golden hair from her and thereby manage Laura to yield to their tempting fruits. Laura tastes the same and its sweetness overpowers her totally. She forgets all and is lost in the charm of the goblin market. When she returns home, it is rather late and she is gently reproved by her sister Lizzie.

The sisters live in their usual way, but something is gone from Laura. She cares only for the goblins and their sweet fruits and try to hear them once more. But she can no more hear their call, though pressed by her irresistable desire for the goblin’s materials. She grows pale and weak. She does no more do her regular homely task but remains seated alone, pining constantly for the goblins’ call. Her condition worsens much to the anxiety of Lizzie who watches her anxiously and is determined to revive her somehow to her former state.

Lizzie can hear the goblins’ shouts and visits them with a silver penny. They try to delude her and make her their victim. But she remains firm and resist their attempt. She only wants their fruits and pays her silver penny to them.

But the wicked goblins do not like her attitude and roughly deal with her. They assault and injure her and forcefully squeeze the juice of their fruits on her face. They return her silver penny, but not a fruit for her sister. Then they disappear, and Lizzie finds no trace of them.

Lizzie returns home, calls her sister and asks her to kiss her in order to have the taste of the goblin’s fruit. This taste, however, acts as an antidote and does away with the wrong done to Laura by those mischievous goblins.

Thus, redemption comes to Laura by the hardship of the sister Lizzie. She brings her alive and active from a state of almost morbidity and death. Thus, the sisterly action proves superior to the devilish design of the mischievous goblins, Sisterhood proves enduring and enlivening.

3. Q. Relate briefly how Laura is tempted by the goblins and her release from the impact of the same.

See Item 2 (from Paras 3–5).

But Laura seems trapped by those unscrunplous goblins. Her desire for meeting them and tasting again their fruits grows intense. She yearns for a sight of the goblin and listening to their cries. But they are no more visible and andible to her. She pines for them in pain and sorrow. But nothing can restore her to her former state. On the other hand, in her unfulfilled desire and exceeding fustration, her health begins to fail. She grows thin and pale, waiting in vain for the goblins and their sweet fruit.

Laura, in her depressed mood and decaying physical state, does no more attend to her domestic tasks. She sits down listlessly in the chimney-nook and even keep away from taking food. That degradling state seems to lead Laura to the state of death – seemed knocking at Death’s door”,

Tender-hearted Lizzie now delays no more and allows her hear Laura to die like Jeanie. She restores to make some serious effort to restore Laura to life from the growing state of death. Unlike Laura, she can see and hear the goblins as she is no victim of the deathly desire like her sister Laura. With a steady and determined intention, she went to the valley of the goblins, carrying a silver penny in her purse.

By her firm and stern venture, she managed to have her objective – to bring some juices of the goblin’s fruits. She has to face torture and humiliation from those knavish creatures. Those wicked creatures hug, scratch, bite, throw dust and even squeeze and caress her with their fruits, dishes and plates. Despite all their assault and insult, Lizzie stood steadily with an unfailing determination. At last faced by her firm resistance, those naughty creatures altogether disappeared and could be traced nowhere.

Lizzie thereafter returns and revives her dying sister by inducing her to kiss her and suck the juice of her body. The effect is now different. It is now of an anti-dote. The goblin charm passes away. Laura comes to life out of death. That is only for the brave feat of Lizzie.

4. Q. Present precisely Lizzie’s encounter with the goblins to save Laura from certain death.

Or,

How does Lizzie save Laura from the mischievous snare of the goblins?]

Laura and Lizzie are two loving sisters. They are without their parents and manage their domesticity by themselves. Close to their dwelling., there is a glen of goblins. The goblins are strange creatures, not human beings, but bear some odd aspects of human features. They are mischievous and wicked and revel in causing troubles and mischiefs to human beings. The goblins feature in fairy-stories in strange children tales. Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market where the goblins are found to hawk, calling maids in particular, all times, morning and evening. They ask maids to come and buy their orchard fruit of various kinds, claiming that these are all sweet to the core.

Both the sisters are found initially cautions about the goblins and proclaim to each other to avoid them all through. But constantly hearing the cries and seeing the strange stirs of the goblins, Laura gradually becomes fascinated. She feels desirious of tasting their strange fruits and does not heed for any caution of Lizzie. Finally, her restrain is no more, and she visits the glen of the goblins. The goblins welcome her and provide her with fruits, despite Laura’s admission that she has no money to pay

them. The goblins simply desire to have her a single golden hair as the price of the fruit. The tempted Laura eats the fruit and returns home with intense desire to visit again to have goblin’s fruits. But she no more finds or hears the goblins. Her unsatisfied desire overpowers her. She loses her interest in life, grows weak and pale and becomes depressed without any interest in any human matters.

Lizzie becomes alert of her sister’s situation. She fears that she has gone too weak to survive. Actually, Laura gradually weakens and almost appears to be in a state of death. Lizzie, genninely anxious for her sister, becomes determined to find out the goblins and secure their fruit to save her sister’s life. Of course, unlike her sister, she is capable of seeing and hearing the goblins. One day she goes out with a silver penny in her purse to meet the little creatures in their glen to secure the remedy for her sister.

Goblins are glad to find Lizzie, a new victim for them. They welcome her and invite her to have a feast with them immediately. Lizzie, however, refuses and points out that she has come for their fruit for one who has remained in the house. She even offers them a silver penny for the purpose. But the goblins are not ready to oblige her. They rather behave strangely and rudely with her. They turn down her earnest appeal and exert even pressure on her. They mock her, hurt her, insult her and kiss her even. They even squeeze their cherries and peaches and other fruits and do not refrain even from assaulting and humiliating her.

But Lizzie remains firm and cares for nothing of their pressure or force. She remains steady to her point and asks them to pay what she has desires.

The Goblins try in many ways without success and finally they get frustrated and discouraged by her resistance and disappear altogether from the sight of Lizzie.

But they fortunately leave on her body and her face and cheeks the juices of their fruits in plenty. Lizzie, thus, stands successfully against the mischievous goblins and their animal conduct. Her encounter against them proves successful and she secures from them the antidote for the suffering of Laura through her own suffering and humiliation.

Conclusion (Then Add-see Item 3 last para).

5.Q. Discuss how far C. G. Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Markeť may be taken as a fairy tale.

A fairy tale means a story concerning with the fairies. This is nothing serious or grave, but simply some tales to the taste and the thrill for young children. A fairytale is one that is well enjoyed by children.

In this connection, the nursery rhyme poem may be mentioned. This deals with the matter of wonder and fantaly. Situations, incidents and characters here are neither normal nor real. These are all concerned with magic and mystery to draw and delight the young minds yet to have any contact with the hard reality of life. C.G. Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market, too, presents no world of eternal reality. Her characters – their nature and function here definitely appear fantastic and odd, not moulded in the reality of the day-to-day world.

In fact, C.G. Rossetti’s poem begins with the goblins’ cry, morning and evening for maids.

“Come buy, our orchard fruits

Come buy, come buy…………….”

The song itself is nothing normal, though it is heard in a market place, somewhat queer. The sellers, too, are no normal beings. They are goblins who are not real but imaginary, invented for the stories or songs of children. Goblins are magical creatures, imagined to have odd shapes and sizes, and revel in causing troubles and mischiefs to young, innocent people. They are not at all human beings, though interested in human affairs, particularly in enticing maids. All these definitely bear the touch of a fairytale.

Of course, the poem is concerned with two maids. They are two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, who, too, bear something mysterious. Their age is not mentioned, but they are simply specified as two maids. They live alone and have the domestic tasks of diverse types, done all by themselves. These sorts of human figures generally belong to fairytales.

What is particularly interesting is their relation with the goblins who are, as already observed, strange creatures. They are the victims of the goblins whose vendoring of their fruits and shrubs are meant only for maids. Here a touch of fairytale is also perceived. Of the two sisters, one is strangely drawn to the goblins and goes to their glen and purchases their fairy fruits by her one golden lock of hair. She is a straight victim of the goblins. Her desire for those mischievous creatures proves disastrous for her. After tasting their charmed fruit, Laura, the victim of the goblins, pines for them but no more can see or hear them. Pining for the goblins and worn out by her desire for them, she grows pale and thin, looses all interest in her usual life, begins to starve and approaches to death.

The other sister Lizzie, truly affectionate to her, gets anxious and is determined to bring her back from the door of death. She can hear the sound of goblins’ cry and stir, though her sister can perceive nothing, and braving all risks, she goes to the glen of goblins with a silver penny. She faces their uncivil and cruel dealing with her but remains steady for her sister’s sake. She offers them the silver penny she has brought but they did not agree to give her the fruit for her sister.

They hit her, scratch her and even smear the fruit juices on her face and lips, and ultimately vanish altogether. Lizzie returns home and makes her sister kiss and suck her face and lips for the juices of the goblins’ fruits. The result proves beneficial for Laura who gets away from the influence and the charm of the goblins. She is cured by her sister’s courage, determination and readiness to suffer for her. This part is also somewhat magical and may be taken as belonging to a fairytale.

Despite the fairylike atmosphere, the magical world and the fantasy of the characters in the poem, there remains a human touch at the end. There is a moral presented by the poetess. Through the maturer life of the two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, the poetess has shown a close bonding and a moral to the poem. They are seen to tell the story of the goblins to their children to warn them of the mistakes they had done earlier. This means that curiosity is good, but excessive curiosity is unhealthy. Thus, the theme of sisterhood entangled in the poem is another aspect of fairytale approach of the poem where Laura tells

“For there is no friend like a sister

to strengthen whilst one stands.”

6. Q. What is a ‘Goblin Market? Why Rossetti has chosen such a title for her poem?

‘Goblin Market’ of Christina Rossetti’s the best known, most anthologized and discussed poem is also, at 567 lines, one of her longest. It is a narrative poem about two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, and how Laura succumbs to templation and tastes the fruit sold by the goblins of the poem’s title.

On the surface level, ‘Goblin Makeť is what may be called a ‘story poem’. The distinctive feature lies in that this poem is about a female character, her fall from grace and subsequent redemption.

What is ‘goblin market then? C.G. Rossetti in her poem of the same name talks about some non-human, weird looking creatures who sell fruits and call loudly out to their customers, only to young maids. These are no male characters, rather halfanimals. The fruit in the poem which the goblins sell has been interpreted in various ways. Critics have long seen the eroticised description of the exotic fruit as symbolic of temptation, with Laura as the fallen woman who succumbs to masculine wiles and is ruined as a result of getting tempted. But, of course, she is happily married at the end of the poem.

But the said temptation of the goblin market, rather the fruit of the goblins, invites further analysis and interpretation. Some critics have drawn parallels between Laura’s addiction to the exotic fruit in the poem and the experience of drug addiction. In Victorian Britain, opium-addiction was a real social problem, opium being, like the fruits of the ‘goblin market’, both sweet and bitter (having an up and down side), and exotic as well (opium hailing from the Orient).

But ‘Goblin Market’ is more than just an enjoyable, readable story in verse. The name, as it is implied, provides the trading of goblins for the fruits in their market. At the beginning, they trade their fruit to Laura in lieu of a lock of her hair, whereas, later, they try to force Lizzie, Laura’s sister, to have a feast with them when she went to the goblins to buy fruit for Laura in exchange of money – a silver penny, Clearly, in ‘Goblin Market, it is not the buying of the fruit that presents a danger to the soul, but the actual consuming of it.

Because Laura consumed it and became crazy and weak and pale. Where as, on the other hand, Lizzie, though smeared with fruit juices by the goblins, actually made Laura to lick it and that proved as an anti-dote. The juices on Lizzie’s mouth no longer harbor the sickly sweet taste of the original fruit, or sin, but now have been transformed into the chrism of salvation.

The poem offers intruiging insights into important human concerns. Rossetti illustrates through the goblin men and their market which is abundant with magically appealing fruits, the seductive nature of evil. Through the effects of the fruits sold in the goblin market, Rossetti shows that evil, like drugs and other apparently pleasurable things, cannot long satisfy. She conveys the idea that those who embrace evil or selfish pleasure will suffer – and so will those who love them. On a deeper level, Rossetti’s 567 line poem provides significant insights into the relationships between men and women and into the often- divided human personalities. Henceforth, the title is apt and straight to the point.

7. Q. Discuss C.G. Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’as a children’s poem. Do you consider it as a children’s poem? Why or why not?

‘Goblin Market’is Christina Rossetti’s best known poem. Formerly, it was generally relegated to the children’s literature or fantasy literature category. The reason for its neglect was partly because its main characters are two young girls and partly because Christina Rossetti’s talent remained undiscovered until she was resurrected by contemporary feminist critics.

Set in a fairytale world and exploring themes of temptation, sacrifice and salvation, ‘Goblin Market’tells the story of a fraught encounter between two sisters-Laura and Lizzie – and evil goblin merchants. When Laura exchanges a lock of her golden hair for the chance to taste the goblins’ enchanted ‘fruit forbidden’, she deteriorates until she is ‘knocking at Death’s door’. Her sister Lizzie offers to pay the goblins ‘a silver penny’ for more of their wares, which she hopes will act as an antidote to Laura’s malady. The goblins violently attack Lizzie, smearing their fruits ‘against her mouth’ in a vain attempt to make her eat’. After the goblins are ‘worn out by her resistance, Lizzie returns home, and Laura kisses the juices from her sister’s face and is restored. called a ‘story poem’ .

On the surface level, ‘Goblin Market’ is what may be speaking, it may be placed in the ballad tradition. It is a narrative that follows a swift, racy pace, revolving round a given character and her fate, leads upto a central event, and apparently underscores a socially acceptable moral lesson.

In this connection, it is to be noted that one of the most striking point of clarification of ‘Goblin Market’ as a children’s poem is its surprising lyric energy. It has an experimental form though. For instance, the goblin merchant’s cries in the opening lines tempt not through lavish verbal description, but through very of form versification

Apples and quinces,/Lemons and oranges,/ Plum unpeck’d cherries, /Melons and raspberries,/ Bloom-down-cheek’d peaches,/Swart-headed mulberries,/ Wild free-born cranberries,/Crab-apples, dewberries,/ Pine-apples, blackberries,)

Apricots, straw berriesThe sing-song rhythm of alternating dactyllic and trochaic feet mimics the sound of street vendors hawking their wares, while the rhyme-scheme eschews traditional corresponding rhyme words in favour of the incantatory repetition of ‘berries’ and a seductive sibilance that hints at the fruits’ dark properties enabling the vast world of imagination to the poem’s child readers. Drawing on the connections of a variety of literary genres including the gothic, fantasy, biblical, children’s literature and fable, Rossetti creates a disorienting fairytale atmosphere that is simultaneously seductive and alienating.

The poem first appeared in Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862). Rossetti’s skillful and original blend of sound and sense delighted critics and readers alike. Its fairytale cadences led the newspaper Spectator to declare it “a true children’s poem”, yet the paper also noted that its adult themes of temptation, transgression and redemption also appealed to a mature readership. Though the poem was greeted as a great children’s poem with rapturous applause, but Rossetti was herself not writing for children during this period, emphatically declining to contribute to a children’s book on the grounds that “children are not among my suggestive subjects.”

8. Q. “Goblin Market was originally read as a moral tale for children. It it a children’s poem. Why or why not?

Q. Is C.G. Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Markeť a feminist poem or simply a religious allegory? Discuss.

Or,

Discuss the note of feminism as suggested by Rossetti in her poem ‘Goblin Markeť.

On the surface level, ‘Goblin Market’is what may be called a ‘story poem’. Loosely speaking, it may be placed in the ballad tradition. It is a narrative that follows a swift, racy pace, revolves round a given character and her fate, leads upto a central event, and apparently underscores a socially acceptable moral lesson. The distinctive feature lies in that this poem is about a female character, her fall from grace and subsequent redemption. The role of a christlike redeemer or saviour is taken up by another female character, the erring girl’s sister.

This is a narrative on the obvious level. Writing in times when women were supposed to be angels in the house, the poem appears as though Christina Rossetti is reinforcing the Victorian ideal of womanhood. This poem is often praised as a proto-feminist work of literature and for good reason, the text absolutely contests restrictive Victorian gender norms by exploring the strong, sensual relationship between two sisters as they resist a noticeably masculine group of goblins.

Many feminist critics point to the powerful connection between the sisters as an indication that Rossetti is working against the narrow gender norms of the time. Indeed, the fact that the poem is written from a distinctly sensual feminine point of view is already radical, but Rossetti goes further by having the women resist the temptations of the goblins:

“One called her proud,/cross-grained, uncivil,/ Their tones waxed loud,/Their looks were evil./ Lashing their tails/They trod and hustled her,/ Elbowed and jostled her,/clawed with their nails,/ Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,/ Tore her gown and soiled her stocking./ Twitched her hair out by the roots,/ Stamped upon her tender feet,/ Held her hands and squeezed their fruits/ Against her mouth to make her eat.”

Rossetti’s imagery can be read as intensely sexual and aggressive, which is especially interesting, considering she was held to different standards than male writers at the time. Her vibrant imagery teems with subversive sexuality that would obviously challenge the patriarchal norms of the time.

‘Goblin Market gives us a picture of a woman who is weak and vulnerable. Laura, as she wilts away, is very close to the kind of women immortalized on the canvas by Rossetti and her followers. C.G. Rossetti was far too conditioned by her social milieu, not to be influenced by the stereotype. And yet, being an intelligent thinking person, she could not rest with merely the conventional portrait of a woman. So her protagonist is given other traits: a questioning mind, a spirit of adventure and the courage to face the consequences of rebellion.

Similarly, Laura, even though she represents the patriarchal order, is presented as an individual that one may not break, for instance, when she stands firm as a rock, facing the onslaughts of the goblins. For this reason, ‘Goblin Market’ remains a strong, woman-centered poem.

According to the patriarchal Victorian ideology, women are attractive as long as they are virginal, but once “Fallen”, they are of no use and lose their charm. These are rules laid down by men (Goblins in the poem) who are the law- makers. The parallel between the consumption of the fruits and the loss of chastity, thus, is obvious through the poem. And yet the theme is subtly dealt with in keeping with the Victorian taboo of female sexuality.

Not only was female desire a danger to the patriarchy, but desire was also thought to be a prey on passive feminity by seducing the female customers with a glittering phantasmagoria of goods. Whereas Laura succumbs to the Gobolins’ seduction, her sister Lizzie remains firmly resistant. Although the poem ends on a feminist note, calling for female bonds and sisterhood, Lizzie cannot be simply characterized as a strong female heroine, because she passively endures the goblin brothers’ transgressions of her body.

9 . Q. Can the poem ‘Goblin Market’ be seen as demonstrating a power struggle between men and women? Discuss briefly.

Q. Discuss the theme of sisterhood and feminine power as noted in the ‘Goblin Market’.

Or,

How does Christina Rosetti use language in ‘Goblin Markeť to promote the theme of sisterhood? Discuss elaborately.

‘Goblin Market’established Christina Rossetti’s reputation early in her career and has remained her most famous poem. One of its principal themes deals with two kinds of love – the profane, which kills, and the spiritual, which nourishes the sisterly love. Pervasive in the poem is the communion, or atonement theme as “Eat me, drink me”, another hint of the atoning power of sacrificial love.

As is the case with many great works of literature, there seem to be about as many interpretations of C.G. Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’as there are readers to interpret it. Forbidden romance, vampirism, sisterhood, feminine power, Victorian capitalism, sin, redemption and lesbian love are a few of the themes that can be construed from the poem. ‘Goblin Market could well be read as a tale of temptation, unrequited love, loss of innocence and, ultimately, spiritual and societal redemption aided by the love of a sister.

Rossetti wrote this poem in 1859 while volunteering the St. Mary Magdalene Penitentiary for ‘fallen women’ in Highgate. Dedicated to the reform and rehabilitation of prostitutes, this Anglo-Catholic institution was remarkable in the period for its conviction that women who had transgressed sexually could be redeemed. Biographers and critics have argued that the themes of temptation, sexual exchange and sisterly redemption in this poem are influenced by the poetess’s experience working as an ‘Associate sister’ at Highgate.

In ‘Goblin Market Rossetti creates a rudimentary framework of behaviour in which a female hero-a heroine-might operate. Rossetti’s efforts are to some degree successful, though she fails to solve the problem completely. Throughout the poem Lizzie remains pure, but this is nothing new. What is different about Lizzie is that she actively pursues temptation with the intention of conquering it. When she sees that Laura is wasting away, Lizzie resolves to go and get her the fruit as a final, desperate effort to save her sister’s life. When the Goblins refuse to sell her the fruit and attack Lizzie, she forbears temptation and keeps her mouth closed:

“Lizzie uttered not a word;

Would not open lip from lip

Lest they should cram a mouthful in,”

Eventually , Lizzie manages to save her sister by running home and asking Laura to “Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices/Squeezed from goblin fruits for you”, explaining that “For your sake I have braved the glen/And had to do with goblin merchant men”. Laura’s cure, implemented by her sucking the juices from Lizzie’s face, is somewhat baffling. The reader is left confused as to what actually cured her-the residual juices of the goblins’ fruits or her sister’s love. Lizzie does not attack the goblin men, demanding the antidote for their fruit, or weave a spell of benign magic over her sister. She is forced to offer herself up to goblin’s abuse to perform a positive action. It is possible to account for the passive nature of Lizzie’s act by putting it into the context of Rossetti’s Christian beliefs, but that does not seem enough.

The poem closes with a description of how, when Laura and Lizzie one day had children of their own, they resorted to this story of the goblins and of a sister’s love to show that “there is no friend like a sister” to help one along life’s way. Ironically, the same volume in which ‘Goblin Market’appears, also features two poems, ‘Sister Maude’and ‘Noble Sisters, depicting and denouncing a sister’s betrayal.

At the psychological level, it may be said that the sisters represent psychic aspects of a single personality. Laura seeks escape from the mundane world through the fruit of self-indulgence. She lives for the wish, or non-reality principle. On the other hand, Lizzie performs a therapeutic role, confronting the dangers of such an approach to life. As such, she represents an objectifying side of the psyche or the cognitive dimension promoting insight and reintegration. Therefore, the validity of the moral remain-“There is no friend like a sister.”

10.Q. Discuss the characteristic features of the two girls present Market’ and their conflicting attitude towards the Goblins. Or, Compare and contrast between the two sisters-Laura and Lizzie-in the poem ‘Goblin Market’ of Rossetti.

‘Goblin Market’ gives us a picture of a woman who is weak and vulnerable. Laura, as she wilts away, is very close to the kind of women, immortalized on the canvas by Rossetti and her followers. C.G. Rossetti was far too conditioned by her social milieu, not to be influenced by the stereotype. And yet, being an intelligent, thinking person, she could not rest with merely the conventional portrait of a woman.

Laura is the sister who gives in to temptation despite knowing the risks. She buys forbidden fruit from the goblins and foolishly believes she’ll be able to get more, but instead, she wastes away. Her salvation comes from her sister, who brings her a cure and watches over her. She survives and goes on to live a full life.

Lizzie is the wiser of the two sisters. When Laura stays to see the goblin men, Lizzie runs home. She does not judge Laura when she comes in late, confesses eating the fruit, or fails to do her chores because of sickening from her encounter with the goblins. Lizzie does, however, lecture her sister on the story of Jeanie, who died by craving for the goblin’s fruit. Ultimately , Lizzie overcomes her fears, faces the assault of the goblin men, and carries the cure to her sister.

The premise of the poem, the close relationship of sisters, Lizzie and Laura, follows that of Christina and her sister, Maria. This poem is the narrative on the obvious level. Writing in times when women were supposed to be angels in the house, it appears as though Christina Rossetti is reinforcing the Victorian ideal of womanhood here.

Laura is innocent and happy as long as she remains within the confines of domesticity, away from temptations of the outside world, particularly temptations related to female desire. Accepting the repressive norms of the society, she may ensure for herself a trouble-free existence. However, when she breaks the social taboo, she has to suffer. Lizzie, who admonishes her from time to time, acts as the moral voice of her times, repeating the socially correct message.

Some critics, referring to the poetess’s personal life and her rejection of men and marriage, read the poem as an expression of C.G. Rossetti’s underlying fear of sexuality. The gobins in their evil, distorted guise, represent the latent fear of men that Christina Rossetti probably lived with. This may be related to the fact that there are no other normal men in the narrative. Even when, in the final stanza of the ‘Goblin Market’, she tells of Lizzie and Laura in their maturer years, neither their husbands nor their sons are mentioned. They are shown only in the company of their daughters and the close bonding between them is stressed. The concluding lines are:

“For there’s no friend like a sister In calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down,

To strengthen whilst one stands.”

These lines further strengthen the theme that sisterhood is powerful and make the poem and its characters an unmistakably feminist poem. No wonder, therefore, that feminist critics discovered much to be lauded in the poem.

The two sisters of the poem, it has been argued, may be taken to represent two sides of the poetess one stern, self-denying and ascetic, the other sensuous, hedonistic and self-indulgent. Lizzie represents the society with its repressive norms while Laura is the rebel, questioning and transgressing those norms . In keeping with the Victorian ideology, Laura suffers because she breaks the rules. She pays a heavy price for not observing the moral code. And when she regains life and vitality through her sister by symbolically “eating” her, she is in a way, ingesting the moral code, reconciling to and accepting the social norms she had earlier trangsressed. Consequently, she can be happy once more.

Lízzie, even though she represents the patriarchal order, is presented as an individual that one may not break, For instance, when she stands firm as a rock, facing the onslaughts of the goblins. Contrasted with the evil role played by the goblins, she takes on a positive, nurturing role, as she risks her own life to save her sister and nurse her back to health once more.

Thus, Lizzie is the pure and innocent sister in ‘Goblin Market’ who resists the temptation of the goblins’ fruit and lives a happy life. She braves the goblins to rescue her sister, remaining true to herself and her values at all times. Laura is the sister who gives in to temptation and samples the goblins’ fruit. Laura’s desire to taste the fruit again makes her ill and her health deteriorates rapidly. She is saved by the love of her sister Lizzie,

On the other hand, the goblins are weird and distorted magical masculine creatures. They tempt innocent young women with their enchanted fruit . The fruit sucks the life out of the women in the same way that the women suck the juices from the fruit, with the goblins delighting in seducing the women. The sisters’, role alludes to the story of the biblical Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, with the goblins representing the devil’.

11.Q. Discuss the conflict between masculinity and femininity in the poem ‘Goblin Market,

Or,

What kind of dominance or power struggle you can find in C.G. Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’? Discuss very briefly and precisely.

‘Conflict’ is of utmost importance in every literary expression-whether drama or fiction. This conflict constitutes a sort of confrontation between two ideas, characters or similar differing elements. C.G. Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market’ is a poem, rather of the type of popular fairy-tales, meant for children. But inside this fairytale, there remains something deeper and that constitutes mainly the conflict of the play which, of course, is not meant for children, but for the adult readers of the poem.

C.G. Rossetti grew up in an incredibly artistic home. Passionate about both and various forms of art, most of her siblings explored their talents in these realms. Her brothers, Dante and William, were members of a group that sought to return to the great art of the early Italian Renaissance. This group was called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Christina was never a member. This is not surprising considering the standards of the Victorian ideals of womanhood. She did contribute to the group, but she always remained distinctly outside the circle.

‘Goblin Market, perhaps, focuses on a world of women to reflect the potential power females could have when they really support each other. In the poem, the goblins are forever trying to tempt the sisters, and Laura falls victim to their schemes. However, Lizzie bravely returns to the goblins where they “Bullied and besought her, Scratch’d her, pinch’d her black as ink, Kick’d and knock’d her, Maul’d and mock’d her” .Lizzie thinks only of her sister and endures it all. She ……utter’d not a word; would not open lip from lip Lest they should cram a mouthful in: But laugh’d in heart to feel the drip Of juice that syrupp’d all her face”. She obtains the antidote her sister needs and does not waver in her resolve to obtain it.

While some see the goblins as men who inflict unwanted sexual advances on women, it can also be argued that the goblins are symbolic of all of the evil of the world and that the real theme lies in the power of women to bravely overcome it together. Rossetti’s poem speaks of the unity of women and of the sacrificial love that women hold for one another.

In this connection, the power struggle between men and women is a bit more abstract. Rossetti thus paints a picture of women no longer standing on the outside of men’s circles as she has done with her brothers’ artistic ‘Brotherhood’. Lizzie, the bravest of the two sisters, enters the goblins’ glen, offers them a silver penny to get a fruit from them, refuses their invitation of a feast, yet braves all the attacks and assaults of the goblins and returns home safely, succeeding in her mission to cure her sister. She did not let go of her sister to waste away and die like one Jeanie. Instead, the two sisters empower each other to thrive and get a happy married life. No man was needed for their happiness and security. In this view, it can be concluded that women hold their own power and do not rely on men to provide it or give men the power to deny it.

12.Q. Elucidate a critical appreciation of C.G. Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market.

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830–1894) composed the poem ‘Goblin Market’in 1859 and published it in 1862 in Goblin Market and Other Poems. ‘Goblin Market, an early work, considered to be one of Rossetti’s masterpieces, was intended simply as a fairy story. Despite Rossetti’s assertions that she meant nothing profound by the tale, its rich, complex, and suggestive language has caused the poem to be practically ignored as children’s literature and instead regarded variously as an erotic exploration of sexual fantasy, a commentary on capitalism and Victorian market economy, a feminist glorification of “sisterhood”, and a Christian allegory about temptation and redemption, among other readings.

Moreover, many critics have also interpreted this poem as a subversive text that reaches out to Rossetti’s life. The biographical aspects which have been examined by critics as the means toward achieving a greater understanding of the poem include Rossetti’s love affairs, her work with the Oxford Movement’s “women’s mission to women” in which she helped “rehabilitate” prostitutes, and her association with her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti , and the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Although scholars have failed to concur about something as elemental to the poem as its themes, “Goblin Market” is generally viewed as one of Rossetti’s greatest works.

On the surface level, ‘Goblin Market”is what may be called a ‘story poem? Loosely speaking, it may be placed in the ballad tradition. It is a narrative that follows a swift, racy pace, revolves round a given character and her fate, leads up to a central event, and apparently underscores the then socially acceptable moral lesson. The distinctive feature lies in that this poem is about a female character , her fall from grace and subsequent redemption. If we look at the theme, we find similarities with the ambitious project tackled by Milton in his Paradise Lost.

There are, however, significant differences: C.G. Rossetti’s poem speaks of no male characters, except for the goblins, who are not human but half-animals., Whereas Milton’s epic speaks of the fall of Adam, ‘Goblin Market’ speaks of transgression by a female protagonist. The role of a Christlike saviour is taken up by another female character, the erring girl’s sister. The central motif remains the same, succumbing to temptation, suffering as punishment, sacrifice and redemption.

In the very opening lines (Lines 1-80), the poem lays bare the situation: there are two sisters, Laura and Lizzie, both are young, innocent and virginal. And there is temptation that lurks everywhere in the form of strange, deformed goblins, who appear as fruit-sellers to reduce and destroy the innocence of unsuspecting girls. The goblins are fearsome yet fascinating. One of the sisters, Laura, finds herself being drawn towards them, despite her sibling’s admonishments.

Lines 81-140 speak of Laura’s transgression. She partakes of the goblins’ fruit, paying for them with a symbolic lock of her golden hair , and returns home satiated. Lizzie upbraids her and reminds her of the harm the goblins did to a certain Jeanie, who had tasted their fruit and died in her youth. Laura, however, is intoxicated with the goblin’s feast and pays little attention (II. 141–183). As they fall asleep, they present a pretty picture (II. 184–198), typically pre-Raphaelite in its detailed description.

The following day a change comes over the errant girl. She goes about her chores as usual but pines for the night when the goblins would appear again with their wares. However, when twilight gathers, her sister Lizzie can hear the goblins call but not Laura. This makes Laura realize that her desire for more fruits from the goblins would never be satisfied and that she is now doomed to a life of frustrated desire (II. 199–268)

Lines 269 to 328 describe Laura’s suffering and decline. It appears that she will now suffer a fate as miserable as Jeanie’s. Finally, when she is at death’s door, Lizzie decides to save her somehow. So she goes to the goblinmen and asks for some fruit. The goblins insist that she should eat the fruit in their presence, but she refuses to do so. Thereupon, they are enraged and attack her with the fruits they were trying to force her to eat. She stands stoically, braving their assaults, and is covered with juices (II. 329–446). In this dishevelled state, drenched with fruit-juices, Lizzie runs home and tells Laura to lick the juices off her. The ailing sister does so and is saved but only after suffering a raging fever (II. 447-542).

The concluding lines of the poem (II. 543–567) shift the focus into the future and speak of the two sisters as grown women, contented with their home and children, warning their daughters of the dangers that may befall them if they go astray, advising them to stand by each other in time of need.

This poem is a narrative on the obvious level. Writing in times when women were supposed to be angels in the house, it appears as though C.G. Rossetti is reinforcing the Victorian ideal of womanhood through this poem. She veils her point of sexual conflict and dominance of men over women so successfully through this allegory that ‘Goblin Maket’ is often mistaken for children’s literature.

13. How does Rossetti treat the matter of free will or acency in the poem ‘Goblin Market?

In the poem ‘Goblin Market Rossetti’s version of the fall of man embodies the standard Christian beliefs about the human free will. Laura knows that she should not eat the goblins’ fruit, but she chooses to do so anyway. Lizzie warns her sister not to take the risk, but ultimately knows that the decision belongs to Laura. After Laura exerts her powers of agency, she is subsequently trapped by her choice. She can no longer live a normal life after tasting the goblins’ fruit.

At the end of the poem, Lizzie jumps into action and saves Laura. This trajectory corresponds to Christian notions of choice, slavery to sin, and the freedom to act.

14. Why can’t Laura hear or see the goblins after she has eaten the fruit in Christina Rossetti’s ‘Goblin Market??

The fruit of the goblins in C.G., Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’is tempting. Once a person eats it, he or she will crave it. Unfortunately, the person can no longer hear the singing or chanting of the goblins in order to find the market to obtain more fruit. Instead, the person is left to wander, looking for the market and craving the fruit.

Laura, one of the two sisters in the poem, bargains with a goblin. She trades a lock of her hair for the goblin’s fruit. Immediately she begins to suck on the fruit as she fels it to be the most amazing fruit she has ever tasted. Later, Laura returns home to her sister Lizzie. She warns Laura through the story about a girl called Jeanie dying after eating the fruit of the goblins. She was not able to get the fruit and died in her desperation to obtain it. Laura does not believe her, and states that she will get more fruit the following day. Unfortunately, Laura is unable to hear the call of the goblins anymore, and desires the fruit so much that she begins to grow old.

Lizzie, not wanting to lose her sister, goes to the goblins and asks them for a fruit for Laura in exchange of a silver penny. The goblins refuse and try to tempt Lizzie. She refuses the fruit feast and so the goblins smear it on her face. She returns home and tells Laura to kiss the juice off her face. Laura does so, soon collapsing into a coma-like state. Eventually, she regains her youth and no longer desires the fruit of the goblins.

Laura cannot hear the goblins after she first taste the fruit, because it is their goal to have their fruit desired by those who eat it once. Since the person who eats the fruit loses the ability to hear the goblins’ call, and he or she will go on to desire the fruit without their desire ever being fulfilled.

According to some critics, Laura symbolizes Eve. Her taking of the fruit symbolizes Eve’s taking of the apple, the fruit of kn edge. Her lack of ability to hear the goblins after tasting of the fruit can be likened to Eve’s inability to remain in the Garden of Eden.

15. Do you think there is a moral in the poem?

There are several morals embedded in this poem of C.G. Rossetti. The primary one would be the values of sisterhood, but a more implicit one would be about curiosity. That one should not build up curiosity about something or that something must be explored.

For Laura, the curiosity that was built up that she had to explore was that of the goblin men=”Curious Laura chose to linger/Wondering at each merchant man”. Had Laura not been curious about the goblins, she would not have wanted anything to do with them.

Rossetti speculates that Laura is the curious one, but also toward the end of the poem the girls choose to tell their own children about the goblin men. This would effectively stop their curiosity about the men and they would not need to go explore their curiosities like Laura did. Laura is telling the children of her mistakes so they do not make the same ones.

Morals are lessons learned from the poem. The reader here learns not to build curiosity about something, and that if a mistake is made, it should be shared to prevent future mistakes.

16 . Q. Why does the poem end with Laura’s moral to her children? Is it a satisfying ending?

How is the fruit in the ‘Goblin Market’ presented as delicious?

In her narrative poem Goblin Market, C.G. Rossetti tells a story of two sisters tempted by the goblin’s fruit. It’s not just any fruit-it is the fruit sold by goblins – some weird looking mischievous creatures, half-men and half-animal like, in the evening at a marketplace near the girls’ house. According to Rossetti’s description and the girls’ reaction to it, it is otherworldly, extra-juicy, and incredibly delicious fruit. This is described variously in the poem”Plump unpeck’d cherries,/Melons and raspberries, / Bloom-down-cheek’d peaches,/Swart-headed mulberries,/ Wild free-born cranberries,”

Some of the adjectives here are old fashioned, but the readers can get the sense of ripeness and fullness in words like “plump”, “bloom” and “wild”. Let us look at another passage from the same scene, where the goblin vendors are selling their fantastic fruit :

“Our grapes fresh from the vine,/Pomegranates full and fine,/Dates and sharp bullaces,/Rare pears and greengages,/Damsons and bilberries,/Taste them and try:/ Currants and gooseberries,/Bright-fire-like barberries,/Figs to fill your mouth,/Citrons from the south,/Sweet to tongue and sound to eye;/Come buy, come buy”.

Rossetti’s appealing presentation

of the fruit is only emphasised by the scene in

which Laura tastes the fruit. Her feasting on the fruit is practically a moment of ecstasy

“She dropp’d a tear more rare than pearl, Then suck’d their fruit globes fair or red: Sweeter than honey from the rock, Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,

She suck’d and suck’d and suck’d the more Fruits which that unknown orchard bore; She suck’d until her lips were sore.”

17. Why can only “maids” hear the goblins?

Christina Rossetti’s poem ‘Goblin Market’may, on the surface, appear to present a story of two children in a rather innocent and imaginary, fairy-tale like manner. The poem presents sexual connotations to the reader, suggesting that the poetess herself may have sexual feelings that she tries to keep hidden, beneath the surface.

While initially describing the Goblin’s cries, Rossetti explains”Maids heard the goblins cry: Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, Come buy.”

Here, the poetess begins by depicting that “Maids”, which are young and unmarried girls, are able to hear the “goblins cry”. The idea that only “Maids” are able to hear the cries of the goblins appears to relay that the cries are only audible to virgin ears. The goblins then offer many fruits, which are all very different.

By starting off her list of fruits with “Apples”, Rossetti appears to imply that the pure and untouched “maids” that she initially depicted, if they were to consume these fruits, will be giving into temptation, and just like Adam and Eve, risk losing their purity,

18 .Q. Bring out the Biblical allegory of the poem ‘Goblin Market:

Christina Rossetti was brought up in a strictly Anglican faith. Religious found to render in her poem. This specific element finds expressions in a good many of her poetic expressions. Her poem Goblic Market, though often taken as a children’s poem, is no exception in the matter, although this is evident here mainly in Christian allegories.

The poem Goblin Market is found to have Biblical facts. Those are and Eve-the story of Christ’s myrtredom for the salvation of the sinners and Eve’s temptation for the forbidden fruit. Both these are remarkable aspects of the Bible indicating human suffering and redemption. Eve was induced to eat the forbidden fruit, leading to the fall of man and the murder of Abel by Cain, that was the beginning of the suffering of God’s best creation. This is illustrated through Laura, allured by the fruit the of evil desire, hawked by the goblins. The result was her suffering, caused by her intense desire for one that was unfair and unsafe. In her intense desire for chosen fruit of the goblins, she was almost led to the door of death.

But her redemption came through her sister’s steadiness and sacrifice. That was the signal of Christ’s suffering and crucification for the redemption of man. From this sense, Lizzie is looked upon by a good many commentators as female Christ, ready to appear for the redemption of whole mankind in the days to come and placing the human world in order, peace and love.

The allegory is used to convey a deeper sense and has a moral for mankind. Rossetti’s poem has the allegories on the biblical elements to indicate a better future for the human world to finally dawn.

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What is the theme of the poem “Goblin Market”? Has the poem any moral to convey? Discuss.[Goblin Market Pdf Questions and Answers Marks 5]

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