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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 i am surprised i liked a poem lol
#spookathon Read something outside your comfort zone (genre, tone, format, author etc.)
#spookathon Read something outside your comfort zone (genre, tone, format, author etc.)
fast-paced
Geen idee welke editie ik heb gelezen, want ik las het gedicht in de Norton Anthology of English Literature.
Hoe dan ook, het was wel interessant. Leuk, misschien, al begreep ik niet echt de achterliggende boodschappen, dus waarschijnlijk moet ik Wikipedia maar weer eens gaan doorspitten.
Hoe dan ook, het was wel interessant. Leuk, misschien, al begreep ik niet echt de achterliggende boodschappen, dus waarschijnlijk moet ik Wikipedia maar weer eens gaan doorspitten.
The intellectual critic is able to remove himself from this poem's pomophilic lesbianism and focus on an analysis of the many literary elements present. The lesser man simply counts himself lucky to find two such beautiful events in utopic cohabitation.
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My goodness what a beautiful and surprising poem this is. The Goblin Market is a classic poem filled to the brim with enchanting rhymes and fairy tale like imagery. It tells the story of a pair of sisters as they encounter goblin men selling fruit. The story is a clear allegory about temptation and has a strong moral lesson about the value and strength of a sister.
This poem has been interpreted several different ways, like the wickedness of men, drug addiction, a criticism of marriage and capitalism in the Victorian era, you name it. While it’s difficult to say for sure since the poem is intentionally ambiguous about the meaning, for myself personally it gave me the impression as being about the loss of innocence.
The young girls that ate the fruit became shells of who they were, bringing to mind the “fallen woman” trope from Victorian England, which dealt with female promiscuity and the social belief that a woman’s sexuality should be reserved for their husbands. Marriage is brought up a few times in the poem as part of the natural order, while the goblin men and their succulent fruit were dangerous because they only appeared to un-ruined young maidens.
“She thought of Jeanie in her grave,
Who should have been a bride;
But who for joys brides hope to have
Fell sick and died”
The prose is lyrical and reads like a children’s nursery rhyme but whether or not it actually is appropriate for younger audiences is a little blurry. The poem is dark and sinister at varying points and deals pretty directly with addiction and death. There is conflicting opinions as to whether or not the poem is meant for children, even from the author, but for myself personally I feel that the imagery was a little too sexual to be appropriate for younger readers.
All in all this was a magical poem that I really enjoyed. It’s easy to read in one sitting and the book is beautifully illustrated. It’s an interesting piece to study both for poetry as an art form but also for the era within which it was written. It’s one that I can comfortably recommend for anyone that likes fairy tales.
My goodness what a beautiful and surprising poem this is. The Goblin Market is a classic poem filled to the brim with enchanting rhymes and fairy tale like imagery. It tells the story of a pair of sisters as they encounter goblin men selling fruit. The story is a clear allegory about temptation and has a strong moral lesson about the value and strength of a sister.
This poem has been interpreted several different ways, like the wickedness of men, drug addiction, a criticism of marriage and capitalism in the Victorian era, you name it. While it’s difficult to say for sure since the poem is intentionally ambiguous about the meaning, for myself personally it gave me the impression as being about the loss of innocence.
The young girls that ate the fruit became shells of who they were, bringing to mind the “fallen woman” trope from Victorian England, which dealt with female promiscuity and the social belief that a woman’s sexuality should be reserved for their husbands. Marriage is brought up a few times in the poem as part of the natural order, while the goblin men and their succulent fruit were dangerous because they only appeared to un-ruined young maidens.
“She thought of Jeanie in her grave,
Who should have been a bride;
But who for joys brides hope to have
Fell sick and died”
The prose is lyrical and reads like a children’s nursery rhyme but whether or not it actually is appropriate for younger audiences is a little blurry. The poem is dark and sinister at varying points and deals pretty directly with addiction and death. There is conflicting opinions as to whether or not the poem is meant for children, even from the author, but for myself personally I feel that the imagery was a little too sexual to be appropriate for younger readers.
All in all this was a magical poem that I really enjoyed. It’s easy to read in one sitting and the book is beautifully illustrated. It’s an interesting piece to study both for poetry as an art form but also for the era within which it was written. It’s one that I can comfortably recommend for anyone that likes fairy tales.
If Arthur Rackham and H. P. Lovecraft had an artist lovechild, that artist might create fanciful horror illustrations like Omar Rayyan's lush watercolor and oil images. I discovered Rayyan long ago on on his Etsy studio page, where his print of his oil painting titled "The Socialite" made me laugh out loud. Finding that Rayyan had released an illustrated interpretive edition of Christina Rossetti's iconic poem Goblin Market was a delightful surprise that made great sense, when I think of some of Rayyan's frightful yet humorous creatures. It's easy to imagine that Goblin Market has long fascinated him.
This is a book targeting adults, based on its somewhat steep $35 price tag. But if you love his work, you'll know that it's a real bargain to have so many of his illustrations. And if you love the poem that has inspired so many writers of magic, it's all the better. My only criticism is that if you want to read the verses paired to the many images, the delicately drawn text is rather difficult to read. Though the full poem is offered in clear bold text at the back, flipping back and forth reduces the enjoyment and flow of his illustrations. I'd suggest reading the full poem first and then paging through the 80+ pages of illustrations, letting the imagery lead you through Christina Rossetti's sensuous masterpiece of sisterly love overcoming goblin malice.
This is a book targeting adults, based on its somewhat steep $35 price tag. But if you love his work, you'll know that it's a real bargain to have so many of his illustrations. And if you love the poem that has inspired so many writers of magic, it's all the better. My only criticism is that if you want to read the verses paired to the many images, the delicately drawn text is rather difficult to read. Though the full poem is offered in clear bold text at the back, flipping back and forth reduces the enjoyment and flow of his illustrations. I'd suggest reading the full poem first and then paging through the 80+ pages of illustrations, letting the imagery lead you through Christina Rossetti's sensuous masterpiece of sisterly love overcoming goblin malice.
It was my first time reading Christina Rossetti, and I was quite surprised at how easy it was to read her poetry. Dark, orginal, and surprising. There are some underlying themes that I quite did not entirely grasp but it was always fascinating. Such an interesting way to write poetry about death and loss.
My favourite was An Old-World Thicket.
Without, within me, music seemed to be;
Something not music, yet most musical,
Silence and sound in heavenly harmony;
At length a pattering fall
Of feet, a bell, and bleatings, broke through all.
Then I looked up. The wood lay in a glow
From golden sunset and from ruddy sky;
The sun had stopped to earth though once so high;
Had stooped to earth, in slow
Warm dying loveliness brought near and low.
My favourite was An Old-World Thicket.
Without, within me, music seemed to be;
Something not music, yet most musical,
Silence and sound in heavenly harmony;
At length a pattering fall
Of feet, a bell, and bleatings, broke through all.
Then I looked up. The wood lay in a glow
From golden sunset and from ruddy sky;
The sun had stopped to earth though once so high;
Had stooped to earth, in slow
Warm dying loveliness brought near and low.