Like two pigeons in one nest
Folded in each other’s wings,
They lay down in their curtained bed:
Like two blossoms on one stem,
Like two flakes of new-fall’n snow
This theme of love can also be seen in relation to religion through the ‘Songs of Solomon’. There are many parallels and sometimes direct quotations from the ‘Songs of Solomon’ in the Old Testament of the Bible. This book is a collection of love poems telling of how a village girl is taken to Solomon’s court and wooed by him but remains faithful to the shepherd she loves. The image created by the line “Laura reared her glossy head” is almost parallel to Chapter 1 verse 9 of the ‘Songs of Solomon’ where the line ‘I have compared thee… to a company of horses” appears. The Bible mentions “vines” and the “fig tree” which could be representing fertility. The goblins could be a metaphor for the village girl being tempted by Solomon but Laura who is led astray remains true to and returns to her sister’s love. Love is described in the ‘Songs of Solomon’ as being like “coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame” (Ch8.V9) and Lizzie revives Laura with “juice” that is like “wormwood to her tongue”.
Another interpretation of ‘Goblin Market’ is that it could be expressing Rossetti’s fear of sexuality. The ‘Goblin men’ possibly represent men using women for their sexual desires and then discarding them, and it is easy to read sexual connotations into many of the lines in the poem. Laura:
Sucked their fruit globes fair or red:
Sweeter than honey from the rock.
Stronger than man-rejoicing wine,
Clearer than water flowed that juice;
She never tasted such before,
How should it cloy with length of use?
She sucked and sucked and sucked the more
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;
She sucked until her lips were sore . . .
The language is semi-erotic and images of fruit are often used to represent fertility. Laura seems to gorge herself on the “fruits” but then is discarded by the “goblin men” and left wanting more but unable to find the goblins. That Lizzie can still hear the goblins could show Rossetti believing that men abandon a “maiden” once they have used her and move on to the next discarding each as Laura discards her “emptied rinds”. This idea links in with another of Rossetti’s poems, ‘Cousin Kate’ where the ‘cottage-maiden’ is neglected by her former lover. Each goblin is half man, half animal: “One had a cat’s face / One whisked a tail” reinforces the idea that Rossetti believes that men act on carnal instincts rather than morally. Possibly it is important to note that Lizzie is described as being “Like a royal virgin town” and this could be seen as evidence reinforcing the opinion that ‘Goblin Market’ has sexual subtexts.
Rossetti uses groups of similes to great effect at turning points in ‘Goblin Market’. As Laura gives way to the temptation of the goblins Christina Rossetti devotes an entire stanza to describing Laura’s change of mood.
Like a rush-imbedded swan,
Like a lily from the beck,
Like a moonlit poplar branch,
Like a vessel at the Launch
When its last restraint is gone.
By pressing image after image upon the reader, Rossetti creates a vivid description of Laura being overcome by the temptation and it appears that a flood of emotion carries Laura forward. The imagery Rossetti uses here shows the contrast between Laura who acquiesces with Lizzie who is stubborn and unmovable,
Like a rock of blue-veined stone
Lashed by tides obstreperously,-
Like a beacon left alone
In a hoary roaring sea,
Sending up a golden fire,-
The use of natural imagery is symbolic because it reflects how the girls who are so close act very differently but both act in a way that is natural to themselves.
It is possible that Rossetti uses Laura and Lizzie to represent the struggle between the Christina who longed for both physical affection and real love, and the Christina who wished to devote her life to religion and conform to society. “Curious Laura” gives way to the temptation of the goblins even though she knows the dangers while Lizzie runs from the goblins. The poem is possibly allegorical of Christina’s relationship with Collinson whom she rejected on religious grounds; Lizzie saving her sister and could represent religion coming before love in Rossetti’s life.
‘Goblin Market’ contains many of the key themes that appear throughout Rossetti’s poetry. In typical Rossettian style it appears almost superfluous on first reading but subtexts hidden within it. The casual rhyming scheme suggests that the work is a aimed at being children’s poetry but the issues it deals with are distinctly adult. Early in the poem Laura is described as “rearing her glossy head” and much later on Lizzie is referred to as being stubborn as a “horse”; this demonstrates that through repetition and subtle parallels Rossetti manages to show how both sisters are so similar and yet so far apart. Christina Rossetti’s use of poetic devices allows ‘Goblin Market’ to work on several levels allowing her to write poetry both acceptable to the society she lived in while also allowing her to express herself.
