The poem is an observation of a particular giraffe in the zoo Miss Marigold, who is living in an unnatural habitat. Beveridge sees the indignity and despair of her existence. In the first stanza, Beveridge suggests that Miss Marigold endures repetitive, unnatural cruelty using the alliteration of the ‘L’ in the phrase ‘endlessly licks the wire for salt’. This alliteration represents a long ongoing experience that may be cruel or traumatic for the giraffe. Beveridge’s use of contrast throughout the poem enlightens responders to the unnaturalness of animals being held in captivity. The use of contrast in language between the language in the first and second stanza highlights how much more peaceful and free animals are in the wild. ‘Her gaze has the loneliness of smoke’, the personifying of the smoke declares the overall feel of the poem and the actual emotions of Miss Marigold. Beveridge uses personification to close the stanza with emphasis on the giraffe’s isolation and separation from nature. In contrast to this separation Beveridge presents a juxtaposed image. ‘I think of her graceful on her plain’ this image personalizes the giraffe and the giraffes home through the repetition of the word ‘her’. This provides responders with a connection to Miss Marigold and her
The poem is an observation of a particular giraffe in the zoo Miss Marigold, who is living in an unnatural habitat. Beveridge sees the indignity and despair of her existence. In the first stanza, Beveridge suggests that Miss Marigold endures repetitive, unnatural cruelty using the alliteration of the ‘L’ in the phrase ‘endlessly licks the wire for salt’. This alliteration represents a long ongoing experience that may be cruel or traumatic for the giraffe. Beveridge’s use of contrast throughout the poem enlightens responders to the unnaturalness of animals being held in captivity. The use of contrast in language between the language in the first and second stanza highlights how much more peaceful and free animals are in the wild. ‘Her gaze has the loneliness of smoke’, the personifying of the smoke declares the overall feel of the poem and the actual emotions of Miss Marigold. Beveridge uses personification to close the stanza with emphasis on the giraffe’s isolation and separation from nature. In contrast to this separation Beveridge presents a juxtaposed image. ‘I think of her graceful on her plain’ this image personalizes the giraffe and the giraffes home through the repetition of the word ‘her’. This provides responders with a connection to Miss Marigold and her