Exam (elaborations)
How does Rossetti portray the predatory nature of the Goblin Men in the opening of “Goblin Market”?
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A Level english lit edexcel rossetti essay Analysis of goblin men
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How does Rossetti portray the predatory nature of the Goblin Men in the opening of“Goblin Market”?
The opening of Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” is the start of tale, in which the fall from grace of two sisters
is depicted. Many different beams can be noted throughout the poem however a constant is the power
dynamic between the Goblin Men and the two sisters, in which the Goblin Men are continuously trying
to tempt the girls, and are depicted as the evil, predatory creatures in the tale.
The use of couplets and triplets / listing when describing the fruits emphasizes the speed and over-
whelming nature of the goblins, and it also overpowers the listeners. This creates a parallelism be-
tween the girls being overwhelmed and overpowered by the goblins, as well as the reader being over-
whelmed by the listing, so the reader experiences a similar experience. The first item in this list, ‘Ap-
ples and quinces’ serves as an intertextual reference to Eve’s original sin, in which she eats the apple.
This allusions to the genesis narrative is furthered through the portrayal of the goblins as the snake,
temping Laura with their fruit, ‘One heaved the golden weight of dish and fruit to offer her,’ triggering
her fall from grace and loss of innocence.
The Goblin’s insistent force can be deciphered from the repetition of the phrases; ‘morning and
evening / the maids heard the goblins cry,’ and ‘Come buy, come buy.’ The term ‘maids’ suggests that
only unmarried, virginal women can hear the goblins, which establishes that the goblins target only
one specific group as their prey. The phrase, ’Come buy, come buy,’ seems harmless at first, but as
the poem develops, the tone evolves to become more sinister and predatory, establishing the preda-
cious nature of the Goblins.
Rossetti’s use of zoomorphism, ‘One tramp’d at a rat’s pace’ likens the Goblins to animals, emphasiz-
ing their predatory nature as they are praying on the weak, and easily tempted, which is Laura. This is
then juxtaposed in stanza 3 with Laura’s interpretation of the Goblin’s voices, ‘voice like voice of
doves,’ suggesting that there is a large contrast between what Laura sees and what is reality. The ani-
malistic descriptions of the goblins indicate that each goblin is unique in their own grotesque way,
which is contrasted by the connotations of doves, such as purity and peace. The goblins have created
a false reality to lure Laura in.
The use of the verb, ‘troop’d,’ to describe the goblin men likens them to a military force which con-
notes violence, war and death. This creates a power dynamic between the goblins and Laura as they
are seen as a strong military force, whereas she is portrayed as the innocent, pure female through the
use of a simile - ‘Like a rush-imbedded swan’ - which suggest Laura is graceful and pure, which once
again juxtaposes the grotesque animalistic nature of the goblins. This suggests the goblins are preda-
tory because they are willing to be violent, like an army at war, and they have the upper hand.
Rossetti includes metric variations throughout the poem, and language associated with the goblins is
written in rhythmic dactylic dimeter, which adds to the effect of incantation by which they attract the
girls. This is usually used in children’s rhymes, which adds to the hypnotic effect of the poem, and em-
phasizes how the goblins are trying to lure the girls in. “She heard a voice like voice of doves cooing all
together: they sounded kind and full of loves in the pleasant weather.” However, the poem has an ir-
regular meter with 3/4 stressed syllables each line, and is mostly written in loose iambic tetrameters,
which speeds up the pace when the poem is read.
To conclude, Rossetti uses many different language techniques and structures within this poem to
show how the Goblins will not stop at anything until they achieve what they want. As the story pro-
gresses, the Goblins become more aggressive, and their nature becomes more sinister, until finally
Laura gives in to her temptation and succumbs to their offers, giving away a piece of herself, and her
innocence, in this transaction.
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