SOURCE: "Symbol and Reality in Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market," in PMLA, Vol. LXXIII, No. 4, Part I, September, 1958, pp. 375-85.
In the following essay, Packer argues that the symbolism—which is often vague—in "Goblin Market" reflects the realities of Rossetti 's life, just as the symbols in her other works correspond with her life, and that the poem should not be read simply as a "Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece."
