Goblin Market

1. Which of the following best describes the central conflict of the poem?

A) A young woman yearns for something she cannot have.

B) Two sisters confront the consequences of temptation.

C) Foreign fruit sellers spread disease to young women.

D) A helpless girl cannot afford the cure to her sister’s illness.

2. How are the goblins characterized in the poem?

A) Sly and manipulative

B) Timid and fearful

C) Exuberant and generous

D) Self-assured and boastful

3. Which of the following best describes the character arcs of Laura and Lizzie, respectively, in the poem?

A) Laura faces a great loss but rises above it; Lizzie initially rejects her sister’s grief but ultimately learns to support her.

B) Laura encourages Lizzie to embrace the fantastical despite its frightening nature; Lizzie overcomes her fear of the unknown to reconnect with her sister.

C) Laura indulges temptation but finds redemption through her sister’s love; Lizzie finds the courage to face temptation to rescue her sister from her suffering.

D) Laura makes a selfish choice that damages her relationship with Lizzie but ultimately makes amends; Lizzie resents her sister’s actions but learns the power of forgiveness.

4. Which of these lines best expresses a major theme of the poem?

A) “Morning and evening / Maids heard the goblins cry: / ’Come buy our orchard fruits, / Come buy, come buy.’” (Lines 1-4)

B) “Must she then buy no more such dainty fruit? / Must she no more such succous pasture find, / Gone deaf and blind?” (Lines 257-59)

C) “She thought of Jeanie in her grave, / Who should have been a bride; / But who for joys brides hope to have / Fell sick and died / In her gay prime, / With the first glazing rime, / With the first snow-fall of crisp Winter time.” (Lines 312-19)

D) “For there is no friend like a sister, / In calm or stormy weather, / To cheer one on the tedious way, / To fetch one if one goes astray, / To life one if one totters down, / To strengthen whilst one stands.” (Lines 562-67)