My Last Lachess And Goblin Market Poem Analysis

Robert Browning and Christina Rossetti illustrate women’s oppression by men in Victorian society within their poems, “My Last Duchess” and “Goblin Market.” The Duchess, Laura, and Lizzie all act against the expectations set for them with varying ramifications. The poets use different narrative perspectives and careful word choice in order to depict the subjugation of these women, their rebellion against it, and the punishment they face for rebelling, calling public attention to the mistreatment of women. In this sense, both Browning and Rossetti’s poems become activist statements that challenge Victorian society’s preconceived notions about women. The reader is never given access to the Duchess’s feelings about her own life and her subsequent death. The Duke controls her narrative as much as he controlled every other aspect of her life. By using a dramatic monologue, Browning demands that the reader understand he …show more content…
Laura and Lizzie are able to express their own thoughts and emotions through their personal conversations and individual actions throughout the poem, giving them control over their own narrative. For example, the sisters’ earnest discussion about their fears of meeting the goblins before Laura’s encounter with them, Laura’s relation of her experience with the goblins and their fruits, and Lizzie’s assurance that she will heal her sister of the goblin curse all demonstrate that the women are able to sincerely understand and express their emotions, as well as form their own opinions and course of actions. Both women are also able their own decisions to meet the goblins, which they each do under different circumstances and for different reasons, demonstrating the power they wield over their own decisions, and therefore their own lives. Their freedom of thought and choice allow them to be far more independent that the Duchess