Sweets, Treats, And Goblins: Literary Analysis

Isabella Kanellis

Hajrije Kolimja

ENGL:1200

Literary Analysis

24 February 2023

The Disguises of Sweets, Treats, and Goblins In 1858, Bradford, England faced a large outbreak of poison in their local sweets market. Due to the businessmen taking shortcuts to avoid the high cost of purchasing sugar, the market instead bought daft – powdered white limestone and plaster – from a local pharmacy; however, this pharmacy confused daft for arsenic, another white powder yet extremely deadly, and sold 12 pounds of arsenic to Bradford Sweets. Over 200 people who consumed the market’s lollipops and humbugs for a pleasurable tasty treat found themselves ill. In fact, 20 people died. When people consumed the sweets, they weren’t aware of the consequences

When the goblins first wander into the valley, Laura and Lizzie hear the goblins cry, “Come buy, come buy” (Rossetti, line 31). Although the goblins are crying out to the sisters, attempting to seduce them, the narrator says Laura, “heard a voice like voice of doves / Cooing all together: / They sounded kind and full of loves” (Rossetti, lines 77-79). By using a simile to compare the goblin voices to doves, Rossetti demonstrates the disguise of their angelic “voice of doves.” This reveals Laura’s incapability of recognizing the true intentions of the goblin men because of their deceitful appearance and sound. In the following stanza, Laura “stretch’d her gleaming neck / Like a rush-imbedded swan” after hearing their voices (Rossetti, lines 81-82). This visual detail portrays Laura’s curiosity, additionally revealing she is not only amazed by their cry, but also interested in seeing them, regardless of her sister’s warning to “not peep at the goblin men” (Rosett, line 49). By comparing Laura to a “swan,” the length of her neck is emphasized as she searched for them which implies her extreme curiosity, and the words “rush-imbedded” imply urgency to search for the goblins. By comparing Laura and her response to a natural animal, her curiosity is considered a natural response; consequently, this implies that Laura is

Once Lizzie realizes Laura has grown ill, Lizzie begins to search for the goblin men to heal Laura. Lizzie knowingly enters a dangerous situation with the goblins as they “held her hands and squeez’d their fruits / Against her mouth to make her eat” (Rossetti, lines 406-407). This encounter with the goblins reveals the sacrifice and risk Lizzie is willing to face to save her sister. The goblins “squeez’d their fruits against her mouth,” which puts Laura in a position to be burdened by the fruit. Laura knowingly meets the goblins with the risk of losing her purity to retrieve the fruit; moreover, the weight of this risk is substantial to her. Lizzie persistently avoids the goblins at all costs up until this moment to preserve her purity which implies it is an important virtue of hers. After being covered in fruit juice, that night, “Lizzie watch’d by [Laura], / Counted her pulse’s flagging stir, / Felt for her breath, / Held water to her lips, and cool’d her face / With tears and fanning leaves” (Rossetti, lines 525-529). These lines reinforce Lizzie’s dedication to Laura as she “watch’d by her” throughout the night, staying awake. Lizzie “counted her pulse” and “felt for her breath,” which are both actions of a nurse or caregiver. In this case, Lizzie sacrifices her time and sleep to act as Laura’s caregiver as she regains her health.