Goblin Market

A BIT ABOUT THE POEM

Goblin Market was published in London by Macmillan Publishers in 1862. Macmillan was founded in 1843 by two brothers, Daniel and Alexander Macmillan, from Scotland. They not only published Ms. Christina Rossetti but other famous names such as Alfred Tennyson, Thomas Hardy, and Rudyard Kipling. Rossetti wrote this poem in the midst of the woman's suffrage movement which we can see directly correlates with the actions of Laura and Lizzie. Going along with the woman's suffrage movement is the idea of the 'new woman' which Rossetti seemed to embody. She had a great education, was financially independent, could participate in critical discussions, and decided she did not need to play the marriage game. Her characters, especially in Goblin Market reflect the thoughts and emotions that women had towards men at this time. They wanted their own agency and saw men as a thing that would lure them away from what they truly wanted. These thoughts are represented through the Goblin Men. Goblin Market was published in Rossetti's collection Goblin Market and Other Poems. This collection is what ultimately led to her rise as an important Victorian poet.