Goblin Market or “Black Market”? From the beginning, it is obvious to most readers that temptation is one of the major 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 the cause of temptation. That underlying subject, I would say, would be the temptation of drugs. I think Rossetti's Goblin Market is a metaphor for what today we would call a "black market", or a place where illegal substances are sold. I believe Rossetti wrote Goblin Market as a social commentary on the temptations and use of drugs in his society and the world around him. As people, we are often persuaded to make decisions based on society's opinions. Laura is no different. She is repeatedly tempted by companies who cry out to her: “Come and buy, our orchard fruits, /Come and buy, come and buy:” (3-4). This phrase “come and buy” is repeated again and again in this poem and is found in lines 19, 31, 46, 90 and 104 to mention some specific examples. This scene of Lizzie and Laura being 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) have almost always makes people want it more. However, without money, she had to pay for the fruits (medicine) with a lock of hair. “She cut a precious strand of gold,/She let fall a tear rarer than a pearl” (126-127). This action of giving a lock of one's hair is, I think, a metaphor for sex or at least a sexual favor. The reasoning being that her hair was considered “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 alluring to Laura and she was drawn to buy and try them, whenever and wherever..