"Miss Rossetti . . . can point to finished work--to work which it would be difficult to mend."--Times, Jan. 11, 1865

Things to Consider:

• Pre-Raphaelitism (Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood founded 1848):
• revolt against the ugliness of modern life and dress
• preference of "spiritual vividness" in medieval art before Raphael (1483-1520)
• medieval settings
• intensified experience of nature
• subtle symbolic suggestiveness, portrayal of sensuality
• idea of weary thoughts giving way to sharp new perceptions
• overriding emphasis on beauty
• Interesting essay on "Goblin Market" 

• In what way, according to the editors, is Rossetti's "Goblin Market" like Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?
• How, according to the editors, does Rossetti's poetry resist classification as Pre-Raphaelite?

• What is this poem about? Who are engaged in dialogue?
• Is symbolism being used in this poem? Explain.

• Describe the relationship between Lizzie and Laura.
• What might fruit symbolize in this poem?  Explain.

• Explain: "Men sell not such in any town" (101. See also 556).
• Why do the goblins take Laura's hair as payment for their fruit?

• Why can Laura no longer hear the goblins' call, though Lizzie still can?

• Why does Laura get better?
  

• Explain Gilbert and Gubar's concept of "an aesthetics of renunciation" (qtd. 858).

"Goblin Market" (1859)

• How is mercantilism portrayed in this poem? Explain.
• How is sensuality portrayed in this poem?  Explain.

863:

• Why does Lizzie "[veil] her blushes" (35)?
• Explain:  "Who knows upon what soil they fed / Their hungry roots?" (44-45).

• Explain:  "I ate and ate my fill, / Yet my mouth waters still" (165-66).

• Why does Laura "dwindle" (278)?

• Explain the description of Jeanie in 312-19.
  
• Why does Lizzie decide to buy fruit for Laura?

• Why do the goblins attack Lizzie?

• Why does the fruit scorch Laura's lips?

• Explain:  "There is no friend like a sister" (562).