Goblin Market or “black market”? From the beginning it is evident, to most readers, that temptation is one of the main themes that Christina Rossetti chose to write about in her poem "Goblin Market." Temptation is a theme that most people can relate to. The most interesting aspect of this theme is what causes the temptation. This underlying topic, I would say, would be the temptations for drugs. I think Rossetti's Goblin Market is a metaphor for what we would today call “Market Black,” or the place where illegal substances are sold. I believe that Rossetti wrote Goblin Market as a social commentary on the temptations and use of drugs in his society and the world around it. We often persuade people to make decisions based on it on society's opinions. Laura is no different. She is tempted again and again by society's appeals: “Come and buy, the fruits of our orchard, /Come and buy, come and buy:” (3-4). This phrase “come and buy” is repeated over and over in this poem and is found in lines 19, 31, 46, 90, and 104 to name a few specific examples. This scene where Lizzie and Laura are called by the Goblins to "come buy", could easily be interpreted as someone on the street trying to sell drugs to another person. What we can't (or shouldn't) almost always makes people want it more. But without money he had to pay for fruit (medicines) with a lock of hair. “He held out a precious lock of gold,/ He dropped a tear more precious than a pearl” (126-127). This action of giving a lock of her hair I think is a metaphor for sex or at least a sexual favor. The reasoning was that her hair was seen as "rarer than a pearl" (127). Laura's temptation was so great that she chose to give a part of herself (virginity?), to experience the forbidden fruits. Fruits, like drugs in our culture, were exotic and tempting to Laura and she was drawn to buy and try them, regardless of