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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
A hypnotic, fairy-tale of a poem, interwoven with religious and sexual imagery that plays, not off one another, but with each. Read it here.
Eat me, drink me, love me...
Laura and Lizzie are sisters who live along. Near the river where they wash their clothes is a market of goblin men offering sumptuous fruits. Lizzie says to stay away, but Laura cannot resist and exchanges a lock of her hair for the forbidden fruit. Laura begins to waste away so Lizzie confronts the goblin men to rescue her.
There are many interpretations of this poem, but its Sapphic (slightly incestuous) and religious imagery cannot be ignored. It is disturbing at some parts, which prevents me from making it a full five stars, but Christina Rossetti had a way with words and imagery.
Eat me, drink me, love me...
Laura and Lizzie are sisters who live along. Near the river where they wash their clothes is a market of goblin men offering sumptuous fruits. Lizzie says to stay away, but Laura cannot resist and exchanges a lock of her hair for the forbidden fruit. Laura begins to waste away so Lizzie confronts the goblin men to rescue her.
There are many interpretations of this poem, but its Sapphic (slightly incestuous) and religious imagery cannot be ignored. It is disturbing at some parts, which prevents me from making it a full five stars, but Christina Rossetti had a way with words and imagery.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A selection of beautiful and well-crafted poems, with the titular goblin market tale as its centrepiece.
I can’t believe I read 300 pages of poetry and actually enjoyed most of it. Because I don’t like poetry. At all.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the poem Goblin Market immensely. It had very interesting imagery and the latter half developed the tension nicely. There are very disturbing undertones to the poem. I also enjoyed the fairy-tale logic at play.
I did not enjoyed the selected poems in the collection half as much. They did not develop the same strong imagery, tension, or themes.
I did not enjoyed the selected poems in the collection half as much. They did not develop the same strong imagery, tension, or themes.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this. Although the cautionary tale against being a fallen woman appears at first prejudiced and outdated, I would argue that Rossetti shows nuance in demonstrating the perversion of the goblins, forever denigrating them as more inhuman than her fallen woman figure. Is the image of Eve and the original sin ... Somewhat mixed in message? Yes! But Rossetti transforms this by presenting an image of forced consumption. Quite radical really if I read this correctly. Loved the use of meter anaphora and rhyme here. Felt truly whimsical and childlike. If I was a Victorian child I'd be so Anglican right now 🤒🙌
Quite simply a joy. The lush illustrations are stunning and perfectly match the intensity of Goblin Market.
i don’t know if it’s because i was reading this while listening to a christmas classical music playlist and the music just lined up so perfectly with everything i was reading which in turn enhanced my experience but i absolutely loved this. there was whimsy, there was despair, there was rawness and so many indescribable feelings embedded within these poems i couldn’t help but be enthralled and before i realized, i was highlighting so much and then i had finished. i love when poetry speaks to my soul and this was a perfect example of that. definitely one of my favorite little black classics so far.
medium-paced
A very unique story!
A little difficult to follow at first, but entertaining!
A little difficult to follow at first, but entertaining!
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really nice edition of Rossetti's Goblin market with the original text and an illustrated French translation. Made me wonder what I'd have written in an essay analysing this text.