“One had a cat’s face
One whisked a tail
One tramped at a rat’s pace
One crawled like a snail,
One like a wombat prowled
obtuse and furry.”
The mix of man and beast gives Rossetti
the explorative freedom to think about
issues that drive much of the poem: human
sexuality, fertility and reproduction, and
female friendships. Turning merchants into
animals also highlights Rossetti’s thoughts on
consumerism and commercialization. Through
anthropomorphism, in other words, Rossetti
is able to extend the reach of her poem and
broaden the interpretive scope of her reader.
Of course, geology and animal science are not
the essence of these poems. Wordsworth and
Rossetti fill their works with such life that their
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