Goblin Market Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is the form of the poem?
It is quite lyricall and quick-paced.
What was the original title of the poem? What does this insinuate the poem is about?
“A peep at the goblins” - alludes to something forbidden. and the element of voyeurism.
What are some of the fruits listed in the first stanza? What does this symbolise?
“Come buy come buy… Plump unpeck’d cherries, melons and raspberries…pine-apples, blackberries… all ripe together” - pineapples were a symbol of status as they were extremely rare and expensive. This shows how the fruit was very tempting.
How is Laura described at the beginning of the poem?
“her golden head” - she’s pure and innocent.
How does Lizzie warn Laura on several accounts about the goblin men?
“We must not look at goblin men.” You should not peep at goblin men”
“Their offers should not charm us, their evil gifts would harm us”
What does Lizzie do after warning Laura?
“She thrust a dimpled finger in each ear, shut her eyes and ran”
What did Laura do instead of running away with Lizzie?
“Curious Laura chose to linger… [she] stretch’d her gleaming neck”
How are the goblins described?
“cat-faced, rat-faced, snail-paced” they “leer at each other… brother with sly brother” and talked in “tones as smooth as honey”
What do the goblins ask for instead of a “coin”?
“You have much gold upon your head… buy from us with a golden curl” - could signify her giving up her purity and innocence in exchange for the fruit.
What happened right after she ate the fruit?
“But gather’d up one kernel stone, and knew not was it night or day as she turn’d home alone.” - she wants to be able to fulfill her desire again. She’s lost all her senses and it also depicts how she’s been ostracised from society.
What cautionary tale does Lizzie tell Laura?
“Do you not remember Jeanie, how she met them in the moonlight, took their gifts… but dwindled and grew grey; then fell with the first snow, while to this day no grass will grow”
What does Laura reply to her sister’s tale?
“Nay, hush, my sister: I ate… yet my mouth waters still; to-morrow night I will buy more”
How are Lizzie and Laura described together?
“Like two wands of ivory” “Like two blossoms on one stem” - shows the bond between them.
What happened to Laura after some time?
“Her tree of life droop’d from the root… gnash’d her teeth for baulk’d desire, and wept”
“She never caught again the goblin cry… she never spied the goblin men”
“She dwindled, as the fair full moon doth turn to swift decay and burn” - physical reactions and the effects of indulging in desire. Allusion to the fall.
What did Lizzie decide to do for Laura?
“Lizzie weigh’d no more better and worse” and went to go look for the goblin men
How are the goblins described when Lizzie goes to see them?
“hobbling, flying, running, leaping, puffing and blowing”
all the previous basically.
What do the goblins offer and say to Lizzie?
“look at our apples” - another allusion to the temptation of Eve
“Nay, take a seat with us, honour and eat with us” - voyeuristic.
How can we see how manipulative the goblins are?
When she asks if she can take the fruit home to Laura, they claim “half their bloom would fly, half their dew would dry”
When Lizzie declines the offer because she has “one waiting for her at home”, how do the goblins react?
“one call’d her proud, cross-grain’d, uncivil… their look were evil” “Tore her gown and soil’d her stocking… squeez’d their fruits against her mouth to make her eat”
How is Lizzie described throughout it all?
“White and golden Lizzie stood… like a lily in a flood… like a royal virgin town” - allusion to christ and purity
What else did the goblins do to Lizzie?
“kick’d and knock’d her, maul’d and mock’d her” - violent ongoing imagery.
Did Lizzie resist the violence?
“Lizzie utter’d not a word”
What does Lizzie say to Laura when gets home?
“Eat me, drink me, love me” - allusion to sacrifice. atonement for Laura’s indulgence.
How does Laura react to Lizzie’s sacrifice?
“Lizzie, have you tasted for my sake the fruit forbidden? Must your light like mine be hidden… undone in mine undoing, and ruin’d in my ruin?”
