The Convent Threshold

“Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti (1862)

One of Rossetti’s most well-known poems, “Goblin Market” is an allegorical story that draws from fairy tales and Christian theology. It focuses on two sisters who are tempted by a goblin’s fruit. It ends with one sister rescuing the other from the need for the fruit. While Rossetti supposedly geared the poem toward children, the sexual subtext has led to many more complex readings of the poem’s ambiguous meaning.

“An Apple Gathering” by Christina Rossetti (1862)

Another of Rossetti’s notable poems, “An Apple Gathering” focuses on the character of a “fallen” woman, which Rossetti commonly featured in her poetry. The speaker, after having premarital sex with her partner who then abandons her, reflects on the isolation she is feeling in her town.

“In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rossetti (1872)

Originally published as “A Christmas Carol,” this poem is commonly set to music and played at Christmastime. The poem describes the birth of Jesus, ending with the speaker wondering what they would have given to the newborn baby.

“The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1848)

Browning, a contemporary of Rossetti, was the most influential woman poet of the Victorian age.