Morning and evening / Maids heard the goblins cry: / 'Come buy our fruits, / Come buy, come buy: ...'
Context: This iconic opening from "Goblin Market" introduces the tempting and dangerous goblin merchants, whose enticing calls draw innocent maidens to their enchanted, forbidden fruits. It sets the sinister yet alluring tone of the poem.
Laura, Laura, / You should not peep at goblin men.
Context: Lizzie warns her sister Laura against looking at the goblin merchants, expressing concern for Laura's safety and innocence. This highlights Lizzie's protective nature and forebodes the danger Laura faces by succumbing to curiosity.
She clipp'd a precious golden lock, / She dropp'd a tear more rare than pearl,
Context: Laura, having no money, offers a lock of her hair and a tear as payment to the goblin men for their fruit. This symbolizes her sacrifice of physical beauty and innocence for a taste of forbidden pleasure.
She sucked and sucked and sucked the more / Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;
Context: This line vividly describes Laura's ravenous and insatiable consumption of the goblin fruit. It illustrates her deep indulgence in the forbidden, leading to her subsequent decline and longing for more of the poisonous fruit.
Lizzie uttered not a word; / Would not open lip from lip / Lest they should thrust the fruit between.
Context: When confronted by the aggressive goblin men, Lizzie bravely refuses to taste their tempting but poisonous fruits. Her resolute silence and physical resistance demonstrate her strength, self-control, and selfless determination to save her sister.
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 lift one if one totters down,
Context: These lines conclude "Goblin Market," offering the poem's moral message to young girls. They celebrate the powerful, unconditional love and support between sisters, emphasizing its redemptive and protective qualities in times of trouble.
Remember me when I am gone away, / Gone far away into the silent land;
Context: These are the poignant opening lines from the poem "Remember," a speaker's request to their beloved. They ask to be kept in memory after death, yet with a bittersweet acknowledgement that forgetting might be kinder if remembering brings sorrow.
Better by far you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad.
Context: Also from "Remember," this line expresses the speaker's selfless desire for their beloved's happiness above all else. The speaker suggests that it is preferable for them to be forgotten if remembering only brings sorrow.
My heart is like a singing bird / Whose nest is in a watered shoot;
Context: These are the opening lines of "A Birthday," a poem expressing an overwhelming feeling of joy and profound love. The speaker's heart is compared to something vibrant and flourishing, symbolizing intense happiness and the burgeoning life of new affection.
Does the road wind up-hill all the way? / Yes, to the very end.
Context: These famous lines from the poem "Up-Hill" represent a dialogue about the arduous journey of life towards spiritual salvation and death. They affirm that the path is challenging and continuous, but ultimately leads to a promised resting place.
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