Goblin Market

by Christina Rossetti

Book Overview

Experience the temptation, pleasure, punishment, and redemption of Christina Rossetti's brilliant poetic masterpiece in this classic keepsake edition, gorgeously illustrated with Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Christina's brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. First published in 1862, this tale about two maidens seduced by lewd goblin men was considered to be Rossetti's finest work. A lush and startling glimpse into the depths of the Victorian psyche, and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811816494
• ISBN13: 9780811816496
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)
• Length: 69 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Definitely not for children

Interesting cautionary tale. Could easily be taken the wrong way. I wonder how her brother's behavior influenced this.

A Prettily Presented Classic

Noted Italian/English poetess of the 1800's Christina Rossetti's imagination catching poetry has stood the test of time, being still loved and studied today. Because of its title, Goblin Market sometimes gets put into a juvenile category, but this is a poem for mature readers. This moral tale depicts the epic struggle between bad and good. The goblin's onslaught on virtue immediately engages the reader's inner ear and heart. This poem is really gripping reading. Goblin Market is often considered Christina Rossetti's best poem. This re-issue, replete with noted illustrator Arthor Rackham's beautifully eerie drawings, is a book worth owning.

Beautiful, sensual, and subject to infinite interpretation

Goblin Market, a verse fairy tale that was first published in 1862, is a rather fascinating piece of masterful poetry. It tells a wonderfully sensuous tale that has inspired a myriad of interpretations. I've spent more time reading about Goblin Market than I did actually reading it - savoring it, rather, for it really calls for a much more personal treatment than a mere reading. This pre-Raphaelite work harbors latent eroticism that echoes with both renunciation and desire. Thus, some term it a work of repressed Victorian eroticism and grin knowingly (and leeringly) as they recount the fact that Goblin Market was quite a popular children's fairy tale in its day. Christine Rossetti was herself a recluse along the lines of Emily Dickinson, allowing her heart to sing freely even as she kept herself separated from any possible objects of her latent desires. In the poem, one sister gives in to the temptation of the forbidden fruit offered by the dark goblins forever lurking in the twilight to seduce their victims to a first taste of their exotic wares. The desire to obtain more of the passion fruit overtakes her young life, yet the goblins appear to her no more; as a result, she begins to waste away near to death. At this point, her sister, who sensibly avoided temptation, willingly seeks to bargain with the goblins, only to have them force their juicy wares upon her. The fruity residue is enough, however, to revive her sister. The act of salvation is obviously the juiciest part of the story on a number of levels - such a sensual act between sisters, with lines such as "Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices" and "Eat me, drink me, love me," cries out for interpretation of all kinds - and those quick to criticize the hypocritical prudishness of Victorian society have a veritable field day with it. Some say this is not a poem for children's ears? Balderdash. Like any masterful work of poetry, Goblin Market can be read and interpreted on many levels. Children will delight in its lyrical rhyming patterns, its allusions to wee goblins hawking the most delicious of fruits, and interpret the salvation of the tempted sister in comparatively innocent terms. I say leave the interpretations to the adults. And what interpretations there are of this lengthy poem. Some see in it a recreation of the genesis story, a story of sacrifice and redemption, a tale of lesbian yearning, a declaration of the power of sisterhood, a commentary on women as commodities in market society, evidence of sexual molestation by Rossetti's father, etc. There's no limit to the interpretations put forth about what is, on the surface, an engaging fairy tale set to verse. This is a fascinating work of lyrical poetry that can be read fairly quickly yet will sustain your interest through multiple readings, all sorts of fascinating research into analysis and interpretation, and just plain wonderment. As sensual as it is beautiful, Goblin Market is probably one of the most fa

Fantastic erotica not for children

I wonder if the good folk at the end of the 19th century when this poem was originally published were just too obtuse to understand the gist of Rossetti's work; if so, we have an innocent artifact that has evolved into something erotic because of our twentieth century sensibilities (we have dirtier minds than our compatriots from the past).Don't let the word "erotica" scare you away. This is not a blatantly sexual work in its language; it is not a "dirty" book. Just understand that despite what anyone else says or writes, this is about as unambiguously EROTIC as you can get. With phrasing like "Eat me, drink me, love me; Laura, make much of me; For your sake I have braved the glen; And had to do with goblin merchant men." Since the original work is now in the public domain, if you want to read the full text online just do a search using most standard search engines with the terms "Christina Rossetti Goblin Market" and you should turn up a number of links to the actual poems, go read it, and decide for yourself about it.This makes a wonderful gift for people you are very close too. However, it is also a very personal poem, and if given inappropriately could actually scare someone away!

A Pre-Raphaelite Classic!

The Goblin Market is a masterfully crafted example of Pre-Raphaelite fantasy fiction written in the form of a poem. It was definitely not written for children -- modern parents should use their own judgement as to its suitability for a modern child. I think it is very unlikely that any Victorian mother read this aloud to a young child as a bedtime story (cautionary or otherwise). Victorian readers undoubtedly understood the nuances of the Rossetti's poetry far better that the average reader today would.

A Tale on Two Levels

Victorian mothers actually read this work to their daughters as a cautionary tale of the evils of the world and the risks of forsaking sisterhood for association with the "coarser" gender. It seems amazing today that the imagery and symbolism, most explicit in the author's mind and to modern readers, must have been invisible to the conscious Victorian mind. This work is remarkable for its literary sublimation of seething, repressed sexuality.