Goblin Market Vs Lady Of Shalott Essay
Compare the ways in which Rossetti and Tennyson employ and adapt aspects of the fairy and folk tale genres in their poems Goblin Market and The Lady of Shalott
Although “Goblin Market” and “The Lady of Shalott” differ in several aspects, they are the poems on which Rossetti and Tennyson’s careers were established.
Rossetti claims “Goblin Market” was a children’s poem, however, many of the themes within the poem make such a claim seem dubious at best. The poem is comprised of twenty seven stanzas of varying lengths, with irregular rhyming schemes and meters. The first stanza begins with “Morning and evening”, which bears resemblance to many fairy tale introductions. In the second line the reader is introduced to another fairy tale aspect as “Maids heard the goblins cry”. The first stanza and several others employ repetition, a common technique within fairy tales. Rossetti also utilises similes throughout the poem, although one does not …show more content…
come across them particularly often, there are many placed directly after each other; the third stanza is merely six lines long yet four of these lines are devoted to similes. The rhyme within the poem fluctuates between couplets, ABAB rhymes and simply repeating several rhymes in succession. Rossetti describes the goblins as “furry” and having a “cat’s face”. Such descriptions ensure a sensation of harmlessness; however, these amicable characteristics are the guises of tricksters, very much akin to the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood”. The poem features temptation and sin; Laura sees the vast array of irresistible fruit, and despite having been told she must not, she exchanges a lock of her hair for some of the fruit. This strongly relates back to the story of “Adam and Eve”, when they disobey god and consume the forbidden fruit.
Rossetti uses many classic fairy tale techniques and themes; however, she has adapted them, without divulging from actually being a fairy tale, to convey more modern themes in an original way. Laura is tempted by the goblin men, and consumes their fruit at the price of her health. This is similar to drug addiction, as drug addicts seem to lose the instinct of self preservation and cease to function to their normal routine; in much the same way Laura no longer completes here chores, and in her steadily degrading health the only thing she can think about is having more of the goblins’ fruit. Although “Goblin Market” bears great resemblance to “Adam and Eve” and their story of original sin, there is a key difference; both Lizzie and Laura are female and in the end they prevail against the evil temptation of the goblins’ fruit. Rossetti manages to convey a feminist theme in that despite the fact that Laura folds to temptation, she is delivered from evil by her sisters love, and they live to tell their grandchildren to avoid the goblins.
Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” employs aspects of the well known story of “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”.
The poem is divided into four different parts, consisting of nineteen isometric stanzas. Parts one and two have four stanzas each, part three contains five stanzas and part four contains six stanzas. The stanzas consist almost entirely of description, each part ends when the description yields to speech; part one ends when the reaper whispers, then when the Lady proclaims she is “half sick of shadows”, then when the Lady exclaims that she is cursed, and finally when Lancelot blessed the Lady. Each stanza is made up of nine lines with a rhyming scheme of AAAABCCCB. The “B” in the fifth line always stands for “Camelot”, and the “B” in the ninth line always stands for “Shalott”, with the exceptions of the first and fourth stanza’s in part three. The poem is predominantly in iambic tetrameter, all of the “A” and “C” lines, with the few “B” lines in trimeter. The syntax is also mostly held to a single
line.
The lady of Shalott is isolated from the rest of the world in her tower, a common fairy tale aspect found in many different stories. The Lady of Shalott sees everything “moving thro’ a mirror clear” which resembles the magical mirror of the evil queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”. Despite all the activity around Camelot, “Only reapers, reaping early” knew of her. The contrast between the common reapers and the beautiful weaver, the Lady of Shalott, is a theme often found in fairy tales.
Tennyson’s poem uses well known folk and fairy tale aspects to convey a different meaning, yet the poem is not entirely in keeping with the fairy tale genre as it has a rather tragic ending. In the poem the Lady often sees “A funeral, with plumes and light” or “two young lovers lately wed”. The fact that the lovers succeed the funeral emphasises that love and death are interchangeable for the Lady. In fairy tales, there is often a tragic forbidden love which is resolved, however, Tennyson is showing that life is not exactly like a fairy tale; he is stressing the conflict between the artist, the Lady of Shalott, and regular life and activity. Indeed, when the Lady does abandon her tower for love of Lancelot, her mirror, which was her greatest tool, cracks from side to side.
Although both Tennyson and Rossetti utilised folk and fairy tales to help them convey their own messages, the ways in which they did it were different. Rossetti’s poem was for children, despite the adult themes which she had subtly conveyed; whereas Tennyson took aspects from fairy and folk tales, and applied them to a tragedy.
Ultimately both writers had their own ways of conveying their messages, and they were both extremely effective.
Although “Goblin Market” and “The Lady of Shalott” differ in several aspects, they are the poems on which Rossetti and Tennyson’s careers were established.
Rossetti claims “Goblin Market” was a children’s poem, however, many of the themes within the poem make such a claim seem dubious at best. The poem is comprised of twenty seven stanzas of varying lengths, with irregular rhyming schemes and meters. The first stanza begins with “Morning and evening”, which bears resemblance to many fairy tale introductions. In the second line the reader is introduced to another fairy tale aspect as “Maids heard the goblins cry”. The first stanza and several others employ repetition, a common technique within fairy tales. Rossetti also utilises similes throughout the poem, although one does not …show more content…
come across them particularly often, there are many placed directly after each other; the third stanza is merely six lines long yet four of these lines are devoted to similes. The rhyme within the poem fluctuates between couplets, ABAB rhymes and simply repeating several rhymes in succession. Rossetti describes the goblins as “furry” and having a “cat’s face”. Such descriptions ensure a sensation of harmlessness; however, these amicable characteristics are the guises of tricksters, very much akin to the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood”. The poem features temptation and sin; Laura sees the vast array of irresistible fruit, and despite having been told she must not, she exchanges a lock of her hair for some of the fruit. This strongly relates back to the story of “Adam and Eve”, when they disobey god and consume the forbidden fruit.
Rossetti uses many classic fairy tale techniques and themes; however, she has adapted them, without divulging from actually being a fairy tale, to convey more modern themes in an original way. Laura is tempted by the goblin men, and consumes their fruit at the price of her health. This is similar to drug addiction, as drug addicts seem to lose the instinct of self preservation and cease to function to their normal routine; in much the same way Laura no longer completes here chores, and in her steadily degrading health the only thing she can think about is having more of the goblins’ fruit. Although “Goblin Market” bears great resemblance to “Adam and Eve” and their story of original sin, there is a key difference; both Lizzie and Laura are female and in the end they prevail against the evil temptation of the goblins’ fruit. Rossetti manages to convey a feminist theme in that despite the fact that Laura folds to temptation, she is delivered from evil by her sisters love, and they live to tell their grandchildren to avoid the goblins.
Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott” employs aspects of the well known story of “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”.
The poem is divided into four different parts, consisting of nineteen isometric stanzas. Parts one and two have four stanzas each, part three contains five stanzas and part four contains six stanzas. The stanzas consist almost entirely of description, each part ends when the description yields to speech; part one ends when the reaper whispers, then when the Lady proclaims she is “half sick of shadows”, then when the Lady exclaims that she is cursed, and finally when Lancelot blessed the Lady. Each stanza is made up of nine lines with a rhyming scheme of AAAABCCCB. The “B” in the fifth line always stands for “Camelot”, and the “B” in the ninth line always stands for “Shalott”, with the exceptions of the first and fourth stanza’s in part three. The poem is predominantly in iambic tetrameter, all of the “A” and “C” lines, with the few “B” lines in trimeter. The syntax is also mostly held to a single
line.
The lady of Shalott is isolated from the rest of the world in her tower, a common fairy tale aspect found in many different stories. The Lady of Shalott sees everything “moving thro’ a mirror clear” which resembles the magical mirror of the evil queen in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”. Despite all the activity around Camelot, “Only reapers, reaping early” knew of her. The contrast between the common reapers and the beautiful weaver, the Lady of Shalott, is a theme often found in fairy tales.
Tennyson’s poem uses well known folk and fairy tale aspects to convey a different meaning, yet the poem is not entirely in keeping with the fairy tale genre as it has a rather tragic ending. In the poem the Lady often sees “A funeral, with plumes and light” or “two young lovers lately wed”. The fact that the lovers succeed the funeral emphasises that love and death are interchangeable for the Lady. In fairy tales, there is often a tragic forbidden love which is resolved, however, Tennyson is showing that life is not exactly like a fairy tale; he is stressing the conflict between the artist, the Lady of Shalott, and regular life and activity. Indeed, when the Lady does abandon her tower for love of Lancelot, her mirror, which was her greatest tool, cracks from side to side.
Although both Tennyson and Rossetti utilised folk and fairy tales to help them convey their own messages, the ways in which they did it were different. Rossetti’s poem was for children, despite the adult themes which she had subtly conveyed; whereas Tennyson took aspects from fairy and folk tales, and applied them to a tragedy.
Ultimately both writers had their own ways of conveying their messages, and they were both extremely effective.