Symbol Analysis
The moon is often symbolically connected to women in poetry. But, it can also have to do with cycles and changes, since the moon changes shape throughout the month. The moon makes a couple of appearances in "Goblin Market," and always seems to be connected with addiction to the goblin fruit.
- Line 84: In this simile, Laura is compared to a "moonlit poplar branch." A poplar is a kind of delicate, flowering tree – appropriate for Laura, who is in the "blossom" of her youth.
- Line 148: Lizzie reminds Laura about the girl, Jeanie, who had eaten the goblin fruit and died. She "met them in the moonlight," so the temptation to eat goblin fruit is again associated with "moonlight." Is the market not open when there's no moon?
- Line 246: Again, the "moon" is associated with the danger of temptation. Lizzie hears the goblins call, and the movement of the moon in the sky warns her that she should get inside.
- Lines 278-280: After having eaten the goblin fruit in the moonlight, Laura's life seems somehow bound up with the moon: she starts to "dwindle" as the moon wanes from full.