Christina Rossetti.

Yesterday in English Literature, we studied the poem 'The Goblin Market' by Christina Rossetti.  When I first read the poem I wasn't sure what to make of it, I felt it was quite interesting as it was different to any other poems I've read but I found it slightly confusing at some points.

However, I've now read through the poem several times and I'm finding it thoroughly interesting. I also did some research on 'The Goblin Market' and was surprised when I found out that Christina Rossetti had intentionally written 'The Goblin Market' as a children's poem, especially since it appears to contain some sexual imagery.

But anyway, 'The Goblin Market' has to be one of the more interesting poems that I've read. I personally like the fact that this poem is different and has a certain feeling of darkness and an almost gothic feel to it. I also like the irony of the character Laura being the person who warns against the goblin men but is then the first to actually succumb to their temptation. 

Additionally I found the way Christina Rossetti presented the idea/themes of vulnerability and innocence quite interesting, especially when she describes the way in which Lizzie 'shut her eyes and ran' when she didn't want to be tempted by the goblin men, because it's a reaction that is usually associated with children and youth. 

In class we also looked at forms of symbolism in 'The Goblin Market' for example, we talked about how the fruit symbolised temptation and in some ways gluttony and excessiveness 'All ripe together' etc.

Now onto some interesting facts about Christina Rossetti! I'm not sure whether they're very interesting but here we go:

- She was born on December 5th 1830.

- When she was 14 she suffered from a mental breakdown.

- She was engaged to two men but she never married either because of     religious reasons.

- She suffered from Graves Disease.

- Her pen name was Ellen Alleyne.

And that's about it.