Freaks of Fashion by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Featherless nestlings ask about fashion, and adult birds recommend colors and styles resembling their own plumage, crests, tails, and legs. A mother auk stresses form, texture, and dress suited to month and climate; as breakfast approaches, the birds whisper that they may wear whatever they like.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Satirical Poetry, Animal Poetry · 773 words
First lines
Such a hubbub in the nests, / Such a bustle and squeak! / Nestlings, guiltless of a feather, / Learning just to speak, / Ask -- "And how about the fashions? " / From a cavernous beak.
Perched on bushes, perched on hedges, / Perched on firm hahas, / Perched on anything that holds them, / Gay papas and grave mammas / Teach the knowledge-thirsty nestlings: / Hear the gay papas.
Genres
- Satirical Poetry — The birds recommend their own physical features as fashionable styles, while breakfast interrupts their discussion of elegance and good breeding.
- Animal Poetry — Rhymed stanzas give robins, cockatoos, a peacock, and other birds speaking roles as they advise nestlings about appearance.
Tags
fashion · birds · plumage · talking animals · social manners
What this Textopian page supports
Freaks of Fashion is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Satirical Poetry, Animal Poetry
- Length: 773 words
- Structure: 1 section, 14 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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