She creates a fairy-tale atmosphere, suggested by the inclusion of the goblin men and the adolescent independence of Laura and Lizzie who reside in this dream-like world, would suggest that this is a children's poem. ... This is implied when Lizzie, after eating of the goblins" fruit, staggers home, not knowing if it was night or day, to be met by Laura who, "full of wise upbraidings," introduces the story of Jeanie into the tale. ...

• Word Count: 3193
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography

The twentieth century really begins before the end of the nineteenth century. Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1887 was felt by many to represent the end of an era. An end-of-century stoicism, and a growing pessimism among writers and intellectuals, may be traced to several sources, not least the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species which put the existence of God into radical question. Across the whole population, and in the face of rapid economic and social changes, radical doubts about the stability of the existing order were expressed. By the end of the nine...

• Word Count: 10566
• Approx Pages: 42