- What seems to be the subject of the poem? Why do you think the poet cast it as a fairy tale? How does this affect the ways in which its themes are represented?
- What are features of the poem’s rhymes and rhythm? What effect do these have on the poem's pacing?
- How are the stanzas divided? What is the effect of the use of different stanza lengths?
- What are some characteristics of the poem's diction? How are the fruits described?
- What are some allegorical features of the opening section?
- How are the goblin men described? Is it significant that they traffic outside the town?
- What effect is created by the fact that they act in concert, not as individuals? What other cues are given to indicate how we should respond to them?
- What significance is attached to the fact that they wish to sell (not give away) their fruits? How is the theme of marketplace exchange used throughout the poem?
- How are Laura and Lizzie contrasted? What seems to be their relationship to each other?
- How does each embody or reject Victorian conventions for women? What infractions of Victorian gender codes does Laura commit?
- What imagery is associated with Laura as she advances toward the goblins? (ll. 81-86)
- What sexual overtones appear in the scene of Laura and the goblin men? What sensations are associated with her consumption of the goblin fruits? (ll. 134-41)
- What is the significance of the poem’s account of Jeanie? What imagery surrounds her partaking of goblin fruits, and her death? Why doesn't a similar fate await Laura?
- Does Laura at first realize the consequence of her actions? Why do you think the vignette of the sisters' innocent slumber is inserted here?
- One rather well-known interpretation of this poem is that the “sisters” share a lesbian relationship. Can you see evidence for this view in the poem?
- How is Laura punished for her actions? Within the context of the poem's symbolism, why can she no longer hear the goblins' cry? What are her responses to this? (266-68)
- What happens to her physical self?
- Why does Lizzie pack a "silver penny" in her purse? How do the goblins respond to her approach?
- How does Lizzie answer their claim that the fruits are not portable?
- How do the goblins respond to her refusal? What does this seem to indicate about their intentions?
- What is the significance of the imagery used to represent Lizzie's resistance to the goblin attacks? (ll. 408-21)
- What are associations of Lizzie's invitation, "Eat me, drink me, love me"?
- What imagery is associated in the scene in which Laura sucks the juices and experiences spasms? What is the effect of so many comparisons? (epic similes)
- Is this experience pleasant for her? How do you interpret it? What term does the narrator use to describe these juices in the poem's final section?
- What imagery is contrasted with that of the goblin fruits throughout the poem?
- Christina Rossetti was a devout Anglican who worked in a home for fallen women. How may this poem have reflected her religious convictions?
- Can you see suggestions of the eucharist in this scene? Of vampirism? Can you think of other interpretations?
- What are some meanings of the poem’s ending?
- What roles do the sisters play in adult life, and who is the audience for their teachings? Do you think the sisters have retreated to form a separate enclave, or will their values affect their outer society?
- If "there is no friend like a sister," how will this insight be applied in the lives of the male children under their care? Is there no friend like a brother, or is the message gender-exclusive?
- Can you think of any sources or analogues for this poem? How unusual is the poem for its time in portraying the redemption of a “fallen woman”?
- If so, how may the setting of the poem in an alternate world have enabled a different outcome?
- Are there other unconventional features of the poem from a Victorian perspective?
- What seems to be the poem's message regarding the values of the marketplace? Illicit sexuality? Possible roles for Victorian women?