01-25-2019, 03:40 PM | #16 | |
Nameless Being
|
Quote:
My review |
|
01-27-2019, 07:34 PM | #17 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,873
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
I spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun in my garden and listening to audio recordings and reading various poems. It was a wonderful way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon!
Goblin Market is certainly not for children with its erotic imagery. Even as a literal interpretation of sisterly love and how one sister saves the other from temptations, some passages would still be awkward. I read that originally she told her publisher that it is was not written for children and then she changed her tune. It’s interesting how many interpretations one could make for this poem, which I suppose is why it is still studied today. The “market” in the title has various meanings. Some believe it refers to capitalistic merchant economies, and others believe it refers to the Victorian marriage market of men and women scheming to marry rich and move up in society. I read another critic that thought it was anti-Semitic. Still others think it might be about drug addiction, especially since she suffered from mental health issues and her sister-in-law died of a laudanum overdose. There are the religious interpretations as fantasy fan mentioned, as well as the feminist interpretation in light of Victorian social mores. Here is one point that I found particularly interesting. As you read her poems, there is much more death than I expected. Even poems that start out happy, hopeful and lively turn dry, chilly or dead. It is interesting that she did not have Laura in the poem die or fulfill the role of the stereotypical “fallen” woman. Instead, after temptation she is redeemed through her sister and lives to experience marriage and children. Also Laura (the one who was tempted) is the one who delivers the moral at the end of the poem rather than the purer Lizzie. |
Advert | |
|
01-27-2019, 07:43 PM | #18 | ||
Nameless Being
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
01-27-2019, 07:44 PM | #19 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,873
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
I made this post separate because my comments are about the person rather than about the poetry. I thought Christina’s life was fascinating. Wikipedia has a detailed biographical summary. She was the daughter of a poet and political exile from Italy. In other words she was exposed to intellectual stimulation and debate. She left school at 14 after a nervous breakdown and then became heavily devoted with her mother to the Anglo-Catholic Church. She also turned down marriage proposals. Her other siblings were also writers, and she modeled for her brother’s paintings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossetti I also found it interesting how many cultural references there are to Goblin Market. Check out the very long list on the Wikipedia entry specific to the poem. Here is a fun and surprising tidbit that I discovered in my research. Even J.K. Rowling was influenced by Rossetti in her Cormoran Strike series. http://www.mugglenet.com/2017/09/lit...ssettis-dirge/ |
01-30-2019, 12:16 AM | #20 |
Guru
Posts: 606
Karma: 2058508
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wien
Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 Kindle Voyage 3G
|
I've not yet begun to read this poem, so I cannot follow your interpretations. Let me read it first and give my own interpretation.
|
Advert | |
|
01-30-2019, 12:31 AM | #21 |
E-reader Enthusiast
Posts: 4,873
Karma: 36507503
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Southwest, USA
Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5
|
It doesn’t take long to read. I look forward to your thoughts, Spinnenmonat.
|
02-03-2019, 02:50 PM | #22 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,375
Karma: 26915798
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Ireland
Device: Kindle Oasis 3, 4G, iPad Air 2, iPhone IE
|
It is certainly a poem with a great deal of frustration, repression, and darkness. The religious transcendence is matched by the brute physicality of desire. This dichotomy is found in many of her other poems. Try “Up-Hill” which turns a series of Victorian “comfort” images on their heads. It is a powerful poem which could have been written by an atheist.
Last edited by fantasyfan; 02-03-2019 at 02:54 PM. |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Action Robeson, Kenneth: Savage 18 - The Squeaking Goblin. V1. 19 June 2012 | GeorgeH | ePub Books (offline) | 0 | 06-19-2012 10:29 PM |
Free (Kindle/Nook/Ellora's Cave ) Christina's Tapestry - Book One by N.J. Walters | arcadata | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 3 | 10-24-2011 01:11 PM |
Christina Grey makes nonsense | imakenonsense | Introduce Yourself | 4 | 08-28-2011 04:23 AM |
Goblin Alley: the Bloodied Fang by Michael Burges - $1.99 | RyanMWilliams | Self-Promotions by Authors and Publishers | 6 | 03-02-2011 06:46 AM |
Fantasy MacDonald, George: The Princess and The Goblin. V1. 7 Sep 2010 | Almiel | ePub Books | 0 | 09-07-2010 03:45 PM |