Goblin Market Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: ABCBCCCCCCCCCCDDBBBE ECCCBCCFFBB ACGCDDCCHHICHCCI JICKHKCILMNMOCOCOCCD PDPCQCQCCCCCC RSRTUV IICCCCCCCCWMWWWMCCCC XCXXXCCX XYYCCCCCXCZA2ZXA2ECC CCCCB2C2B2C2 XCXCIICXCCCCXB2B2B2O OOOOOCCD2D2D2COOCACE 2XXXF2XXG2G2F2 XXCXH2OCCH2CCOXXX AACCCCXXI2XXXI2XXX J2KKJ2K2CCCCCK2CK2 D2D2ACCL2CAE2ACIL2I M2KKN2O2O2O2CCCC C2C2CCXXXXP2AB2B2XAX P2 XQ2Q2CCIIXB2R2R2B2 C2FXXS2S2S2FCFCC CCXKKX CCCACCCIICCCCT2XU2XV 2V2V2V2 ACCCCCKW2K E2AAAAAAACCCX2X2CCCC CCCCCCCS2CCCAAS2CV2C CCCS2CCCAACCCCCCCCCC CCCACCCCCAAAXL2XL2CC CCAACXCX XXC2L2C2CCCXCWCXW CACCCACCXY2E2Y2CE2XL 2CXAXXAL2XC L2B2B2CL2L2CCPPCCCCX XC S2CCCCCCCCII CCCXS2S2XAS2S2CCICQ2 FQ2F Z2AXAAXXZ2XXXS2XS2 XCV2V2XCW2WWXCXXCXXW 2 FCCFCCCCCCCXV2V2XCXX C CCC2CCCV2VV2IIXXWXXX CCCCXXWC

Morning and evening	A
Maids heard the goblins cry	B
Come buy our orchard fruits	C
Come buy come buy	B
Apples and quinces	C
Lemons and oranges	C
Plump unpeck'd cherries	C
Melons and raspberries	C
Bloom down cheek'd peaches	C
Swart headed mulberries	C
Wild free born cranberries	C
Crab apples dewberries	C
Pine apples blackberries	C
Apricots strawberries	C
All ripe together	D
In summer weather	D
Morns that pass by	B
Fair eves that fly	B
Come buy come buy	B
Our grapes fresh from the vine	E
Pomegranates full and fine	E
Dates and sharp bullaces	C
Rare pears and greengages	C
Damsons and bilberries	C
Taste them and try	B
Currants and gooseberries	C
Bright fire like barberries	C
Figs to fill your mouth	F
Citrons from the South	F
Sweet to tongue and sound to eye	B
Come buy come buy	B
	-
Evening by evening	A
Among the brookside rushes	C
Laura bow'd her head to hear	G
Lizzie veil'd her blushes	C
Crouching close together	D
In the cooling weather	D
With clasping arms and cautioning lips	C
With tingling cheeks and finger tips	C
Lie close Laura said	H
Pricking up her golden head	H
We must not look at goblin men	I
We must not buy their fruits	C
Who knows upon what soil they fed	H
Their hungry thirsty roots	C
Come buy call the goblins	C
Hobbling down the glen	I
	-
Oh cried Lizzie Laura Laura	J
You should not peep at goblin men	I
Lizzie cover'd up her eyes	C
Cover'd close lest they should look	K
Laura rear'd her glossy head	H
And whisper'd like the restless brook	K
Look Lizzie look Lizzie	C
Down the glen tramp little men	I
One hauls a basket	L
One bears a plate	M
One lugs a golden dish	N
Of many pounds weight	M
How fair the vine must grow	O
Whose grapes are so luscious	C
How warm the wind must blow	O
Through those fruit bushes	C
No said Lizzie No no no	O
Their offers should not charm us	C
Their evil gifts would harm us	C
She thrust a dimpled finger	D
In each ear shut eyes and ran	P
Curious Laura chose to linger	D
Wondering at each merchant man	P
One had a cat's face	C
One whisk'd a tail	Q
One tramp'd at a rat's pace	C
One crawl'd like a snail	Q
One like a wombat prowl'd obtuse and furry	C
One like a ratel tumbled hurry skurry	C
She heard a voice like voice of doves	C
Cooing all together	C
They sounded kind and full of loves	C
In the pleasant weather	C
	-
Laura stretch'd her gleaming neck	R
Like a rush imbedded swan	S
Like a lily from the beck	R
Like a moonlit poplar branch	T
Like a vessel at the launch	U
When its last restraint is gone	V
	-
Backwards up the mossy glen	I
Turn'd and troop'd the goblin men	I
With their shrill repeated cry	C
Come buy come buy	C
When they reach'd where Laura was	C
They stood stock still upon the moss	C
Leering at each other	C
Brother with queer brother	C
Signalling each other	C
Brother with sly brother	C
One set his basket down	W
One rear'd his plate	M
One began to weave a crown	W
Of tendrils leaves and rough nuts brown	W
Men sell not such in any town	W
One heav'd the golden weight	M
Of dish and fruit to offer her	C
Come buy come buy was still their cry	C
Laura stared but did not stir	C
Long'd but had no money	C
The whisk tail'd merchant bade her taste	X
In tones as smooth as honey	C
The cat faced purr'd	X
The rat faced spoke a word	X
Of welcome and the snail paced even was heard	X
One parrot voiced and jolly	C
Cried Pretty Goblin still for Pretty Polly	C
One whistled like a bird	X
	-
But sweet tooth Laura spoke in haste	X
Good folk I have no coin	Y
To take were to purloin	Y
I have no copper in my purse	C
I have no silver either	C
And all my gold is on the furze	C
That shakes in windy weather	C
Above the rusty heather	C
You have much gold upon your head	X
They answer'd all together	C
Buy from us with a golden curl	Z
She clipp'd a precious golden lock	A2
She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl	Z
Then suck'd their fruit globes fair or red	X
Sweeter than honey from the rock	A2
Stronger than man rejoicing wine	E
Clearer than water flow'd that juice	C
She never tasted such before	C
How should it cloy with length of use	C
She suck'd and suck'd and suck'd the more	C
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore	C
She suck'd until her lips were sore	C
Then flung the emptied rinds away	B2
But gather'd up one kernel stone	C2
And knew not was it night or day	B2
As she turn'd home alone	C2
	-
Lizzie met her at the gate	X
Full of wise upbraidings	C
Dear you should not stay so late	X
Twilight is not good for maidens	C
Should not loiter in the glen	I
In the haunts of goblin men	I
Do you not remember Jeanie	C
How she met them in the moonlight	X
Took their gifts both choice and many	C
Ate their fruits and wore their flowers	C
Pluck'd from bowers	C
Where summer ripens at all hours	C
But ever in the noonlight	X
She pined and pined away	B2
Sought them by night and day	B2
Found them no more but dwindled and grew grey	B2
Then fell with the first snow	O
While to this day no grass will grow	O
Where she lies low	O
I planted daisies there a year ago	O
That never blow	O
You should not loiter so	O
Nay hush said Laura	C
Nay hush my sister	C
I ate and ate my fill	D2
Yet my mouth waters still	D2
To morrow night I will	D2
Buy more and kiss'd her	C
Have done with sorrow	O
I'll bring you plums to morrow	O
Fresh on their mother twigs	C
Cherries worth getting	A
You cannot think what figs	C
My teeth have met in	E2
What melons icy cold	X
Piled on a dish of gold	X
Too huge for me to hold	X
What peaches with a velvet nap	F2
Pellucid grapes without one seed	X
Odorous indeed must be the mead	X
Whereon they grow and pure the wave they drink	G2
With lilies at the brink	G2
And sugar sweet their sap	F2
	-
Golden head by golden head	X
Like two pigeons in one nest	X
Folded in each other's wings	C
They lay down in their curtain'd bed	X
Like two blossoms on one stem	H2
Like two flakes of new fall'n snow	O
Like two wands of ivory	C
Tipp'd with gold for awful kings	C
Moon and stars gaz'd in at them	H2
Wind sang to them lullaby	C
Lumbering owls forbore to fly	C
Not a bat flapp'd to and fro	O
Round their rest	X
Cheek to cheek and breast to breast	X
Lock'd together in one nest	X
	-
Early in the morning	A
When the first cock crow'd his warning	A
Neat like bees as sweet and busy	C
Laura rose with Lizzie	C
Fetch'd in honey milk'd the cows	C
Air'd and set to rights the house	C
Kneaded cakes of whitest wheat	X
Cakes for dainty mouths to eat	X
Next churn'd butter whipp'd up cream	I2
Fed their poultry sat and sew'd	X
Talk'd as modest maidens should	X
Lizzie with an open heart	X
Laura in an absent dream	I2
One content one sick in part	X
One warbling for the mere bright day's delight	X
One longing for the night	X
	-
At length slow evening came	J2
They went with pitchers to the reedy brook	K
Lizzie most placid in her look	K
Laura most like a leaping flame	J2
They drew the gurgling water from its deep	K2
Lizzie pluck'd purple and rich golden flags	C
Then turning homeward said The sunset flushes	C
Those furthest loftiest crags	C
Come Laura not another maiden lags	C
No wilful squirrel wags	C
The beasts and birds are fast asleep	K2
But Laura loiter'd still among the rushes	C
And said the bank was steep	K2
	-
And said the hour was early still	D2
The dew not fall'n the wind not chill	D2
Listening ever but not catching	A
The customary cry	C
Come buy come buy	C
With its iterated jingle	L2
Of sugar baited words	C
Not for all her watching	A
Once discerning even one goblin	E2
RacinG whisking tumbling hobbling	A
Let alone the herds	C
That used to tramp along the glen	I
In groups or single	L2
Of brisk fruit merchant men	I
	-
Till Lizzie urged O Laura come	M2
I hear the fruit call but I dare not look	K
You should not loiter longer at this brook	K
Come with me home	N2
The stars rise the moon bends her arc	O2
Each glowworm winks her spark	O2
Let us get home before the night grows dark	O2
For clouds may gather	C
Though this is summer weather	C
Put out the lights and drench us through	C
Then if we lost our way what should we do	C
	-
Laura turn'd cold as stone	C2
To find her sister heard that cry alone	C2
That goblin cry	C
Come buy our fruits come buy	C
Must she then buy no more such dainty fruit	X
Must she no more such succous pasture find	X
Gone deaf and blind	X
Her tree of life droop'd from the root	X
She said not one word in her heart's sore ache	P2
But peering thro' the dimness nought discerning	A
Trudg'd home her pitcher dripping all the way	B2
So crept to bed and lay	B2
Silent till Lizzie slept	X
Then sat up in a passionate yearning	A
And gnash'd her teeth for baulk'd desire and wept	X
As if her heart would break	P2
	-
Day after day night after night	X
Laura kept watch in vain	Q2
In sullen silence of exceeding pain	Q2
She never caught again the goblin cry	C
Come buy come buy	C
She never spied the goblin men	I
Hawking their fruits along the glen	I
But when the noon wax'd bright	X
Her hair grew thin and grey	B2
She dwindled as the fair full moon doth turn	R2
To swift decay and burn	R2
Her fire away	B2
	-
One day remembering her kernel stone	C2
She set it by a wall that faced the south	F
Dew'd it with tears hoped for a root	X
Watch'd for a waxing shoot	X
But there came none	S2
It never saw the sun	S2
It never felt the trickling moisture run	S2
While with sunk eyes and faded mouth	F
She dream'd of melons as a traveller sees	C
False waves in desert drouth	F
With shade of leaf crown'd trees	C
And burns the thirstier in the sandful breeze	C
	-
She no more swept the house	C
Tended the fowls or cows	C
Fetch'd honey kneaded cakes of wheat	X
Brought water from the brook	K
But sat down listless in the chimney nook	K
And would not eat	X
	-
Tender Lizzie could not bear	C
To watch her sister's cankerous care	C
Yet not to share	C
She night and morning	A
Caught the goblins' cry	C
Come buy our orchard fruits	C
Come buy come buy	C
Beside the brook along the glen	I
She heard the tramp of goblin men	I
The yoke and stir	C
Poor Laura could not hear	C
Long'd to buy fruit to comfort her	C
But fear'd to pay too dear	C
She thought of Jeanie in her grave	T2
Who should have been a bride	X
But who for joys brides hope to have	U2
Fell sick and died	X
In her gay prime	V2
In earliest winter time	V2
With the first glazing rime	V2
With the first snow fall of crisp winter time	V2
	-
Till Laura dwindling	A
Seem'd knocking at Death's door	C
Then Lizzie weigh'd no more	C
Better and worse	C
But put a silver penny in her purse	C
Kiss'd Laura cross'd the heath with clumps of furze	C
At twilight halted by the brook	K
And for the first time in her life	W2
Began to listen and look	K
	-
Laugh'd every goblin	E2
When they spied her peeping	A
Came towards her hobbling	A
Flying running leaping	A
Puffing and blowing	A
Chuckling clapping crowing	A
Clucking and gobbling	A
Mopping and mowing	A
Full of airs and graces	C
Pulling wry faces	C
Demure grimaces	C
Cat like and rat like	X2
Ratel and wombat like	X2
Snail paced in a hurry	C
Parrot voiced and whistler	C
Helter skelter hurry skurry	C
Chattering like magpies	C
Fluttering like pigeons	C
Gliding like fishes	C
Hugg'd her and kiss'd her	C
Squeez'd and caress'd her	C
Stretch'd up their dishes	C
Panniers and plates	C
Look at our apples	C
Russet and dun	S2
Bob at our cherries	C
Bite at our peaches	C
Citrons and dates	C
Grapes for the asking	A
Pears red with basking	A
Out in the sun	S2
Plums on their twigs	C
Pluck them and suck them	V2
Pomegranates figs	C
	-
Good folk said Lizzie	C
Mindful of Jeanie	C
Give me much and many	C
Held out her apron	S2
Toss'd them her penny	C
Nay take a seat with us	C
Honour and eat with us	C
They answer'd grinning	A
Our feast is but beginning	A
Night yet is early	C
Warm and dew pearly	C
Wakeful and starry	C
Such fruits as these	C
No man can carry	C
Half their bloom would fly	C
Half their dew would dry	C
Half their flavour would pass by	C
Sit down and feast with us	C
Be welcome guest with us	C
Cheer you and rest with us	C
Thank you said Lizzie But one waits	C
At home alone for me	C
So without further parleying	A
If you will not sell me any	C
Of your fruits though much and many	C
Give me back my silver penny	C
I toss'd you for a fee	C
They began to scratch their pates	C
No longer wagging purring	A
But visibly demurring	A
Grunting and snarling	A
One call'd her proud	X
Cross grain'd uncivil	L2
Their tones wax'd loud	X
Their look were evil	L2
Lashing their tails	C
They trod and hustled her	C
Elbow'd and jostled her	C
Claw'd with their nails	C
Barking mewing hissing mocking	A
Tore her gown and soil'd her stocking	A
Twitch'd her hair out by the roots	C
Stamp'd upon her tender feet	X
Held her hands and squeez'd their fruits	C
Against her mouth to make her eat	X
	-
White and golden Lizzie stood	X
Like a lily in a flood	X
Like a rock of blue vein'd stone	C2
Lash'd by tides obstreperously	L2
Like a beacon left alone	C2
In a hoary roaring sea	C
Sending up a golden fire	C
Like a fruit crown'd orange tree	C
White with blossoms honey sweet	X
Sore beset by wasp and bee	C
Like a royal virgin town	W
Topp'd with gilded dome and spire	C
Close beleaguer'd by a fleet	X
Mad to tug her standard down	W
	-
One may lead a horse to water	C
Twenty cannot make him drink	A
Though the goblins cuff'd and caught her	C
Coax'd and fought her	C
Bullied and besought her	C
Scratch'd her pinch'd her black as ink	A
Kick'd and knock'd her	C
Maul'd and mock'd her	C
Lizzie utter'd not a word	X
Would not open lip from lip	Y2
Lest they should cram a mouthful in	E2
But laugh'd in heart to feel the drip	Y2
Of juice that syrupp'd all her face	C
And lodg'd in dimples of her chin	E2
And streak'd her neck which quaked like curd	X
At last the evil people	L2
Worn out by her resistance	C
Flung back her penny kick'd their fruit	X
Along whichever road they took	A
Not leaving root or stone or shoot	X
Some writh'd into the ground	X
Some div'd into the brook	A
With ring and ripple	L2
Some scudded on the gale without a sound	X
Some vanish'd in the distance	C
	-
In a smart ache tingle	L2
Lizzie went her way	B2
Knew not was it night or day	B2
Sprang up the bank tore thro' the furze	C
Threaded copse and dingle	L2
And heard her penny jingle	L2
Bouncing in her purse	C
Its bounce was music to her ear	C
She ran and ran	P
As if she fear'd some goblin man	P
Dogg'd her with gibe or curse	C
Or something worse	C
But not one goblin scurried after	C
Nor was she prick'd by fear	C
The kind heart made her windy paced	X
That urged her home quite out of breath with haste	X
And inward laughter	C
	-
She cried Laura up the garden	S2
Did you miss me	C
Come and kiss me	C
Never mind my bruises	C
Hug me kiss me suck my juices	C
Squeez'd from goblin fruits for you	C
Goblin pulp and goblin dew	C
Eat me drink me love me	C
Laura make much of me	C
For your sake I have braved the glen	I
And had to do with goblin merchant men	I
	-
Laura started from her chair	C
Flung her arms up in the air	C
Clutch'd her hair	C
Lizzie Lizzie have you tasted	X
For my sake the fruit forbidden	S2
Must your light like mine be hidden	S2
Your young life like mine be wasted	X
Undone in mine undoing	A
And ruin'd in my ruin	S2
Thirsty canker'd goblin ridden	S2
She clung about her sister	C
Kiss'd and kiss'd and kiss'd her	C
Tears once again	I
Refresh'd her shrunken eyes	C
Dropping like rain	Q2
After long sultry drouth	F
Shaking with aguish fear and pain	Q2
She kiss'd and kiss'd her with a hungry mouth	F
	-
Her lips began to scorch	Z2
That juice was wormwood to her tongue	A
She loath'd the feast	X
Writhing as one possess'd she leap'd and sung	A
Rent all her robe and wrung	A
Her hands in lamentable haste	X
And beat her breast	X
Her locks stream'd like the torch	Z2
Borne by a racer at full speed	X
Or like the mane of horses in their flight	X
Or like an eagle when she stems the light	X
Straight toward the sun	S2
Or like a caged thing freed	X
Or like a flying flag when armies run	S2
	-
Swift fire spread through her veins knock'd at her heart	X
Met the fire smouldering there	C
And overbore its lesser flame	V2
She gorged on bitterness without a name	V2
Ah fool to choose such part	X
Of soul consuming care	C
Sense fail'd in the mortal strife	W2
Like the watch tower of a town	W
Which an earthquake shatters down	W
Like a lightning stricken mast	X
Like a wind uprooted tree	C
Spun about	X
Like a foam topp'd waterspout	X
Cast down headlong in the sea	C
She fell at last	X
Pleasure past and anguish past	X
Is it death or is it life	W2
	-
Life out of death	F
That night long Lizzie watch'd by her	C
Counted her pulse's flagging stir	C
Felt for her breath	F
Held water to her lips and cool'd her face	C
With tears and fanning leaves	C
But when the first birds chirp'd about their eaves	C
And early reapers plodded to the place	C
Of golden sheaves	C
And dew wet grass	C
Bow'd in the morning winds so brisk to pass	C
And new buds with new day	X
Open'd of cup like lilies on the stream	V2
Laura awoke as from a dream	V2
Laugh'd in the innocent old way	X
Hugg'd Lizzie but not twice or thrice	C
Her gleaming locks show'd not one thread of grey	X
Her breath was sweet as May	X
And light danced in her eyes	C
	-
Days weeks months years	C
Afterwards when both were wives	C
With children of their own	C2
Their mother hearts beset with fears	C
Their lives bound up in tender lives	C
Laura would call the little ones	C
And tell them of her early prime	V2
Those pleasant days long gone	V
Of not returning time	V2
Would talk about the haunted glen	I
The wicked quaint fruit merchant men	I
Their fruits like honey to the throat	X
But poison in the blood	X
Men sell not such in any town	W
Would tell them how her sister stood	X
In deadly peril to do her good	X
And win the fiery antidote	X
Then joining hands to little hands	C
Would bid them cling together	C
For there is no friend like a sister	C
In calm or stormy weather	C
To cheer one on the tedious way	X
To fetch one if one goes astray	X
To lift one if one totters down	W
To strengthen whilst one stands	C

Christina Rossetti

Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme

Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation

<< From The Antique Poem Guesses Poem>>

Write your comment about Goblin Market poem by Christina Rossetti

Best Poems of Christina Rossetti

Recent Interactions*

This poem was read 99 times,

This poem was added to the favorite list by 0 members,

This poem was voted by 1 members.

(* Interactions only in the last 7 days)

New Poems

Wonderful Women
by Umaru Kanneh Boima
Freedom To Scratch In Peace
by Olute Aete
Happy New Year
by Felix Menda
Human Beings
by Dana Graslie
Lust
by Wisdom Greatness
An Isolated Tree's Song
by Sayeed Abubakar
A Strange Boy
by Sayeed Abubakar
O Soil
by Sayeed Abubakar
No War, No War-monger
by Sayeed Abubakar
Night's Town
by Sayeed Abubakar

Popular Poets

1. Emily Dickinson(2414 poems)
2. Madison Julius Cawein(1231 poems)
3. Ella Wheeler Wilcox(1136 poems)
4. William Wordsworth(1016 poems)
5. Robert Burns(986 poems)
6. Edgar Albert Guest(945 poems)
7. Thomas Moore(849 poems)
8. Robert Service(831 poems)