Marianne Moore's Poetry: Embracing Modernism and Challenging Traditional Values
Marianne Moore's Poetry is one of the greatest works in the early twentieth century. Several scholars have analyzed the works of Moore in which the previous generation of submissive women was to be discarded. In fact, Moore and other poets wanted to free poetry from the past style that never mirrored the reality of life at the time. According Hicok (484), Moore was among the second generation of women to enter college in America. This generation was particularly interesting, \u2026, as it represented a "transitional" one between Victorian and modern America. Thus her work portrays a theme of modernism and Jordan Davis writer "and, later, John Ashbery praised her modernity" (236). The quote reveals that her writing was based on modern values rather than the tradition values of the society that undermined women. Marianne Moore is described as a subversive modernist, with surprised sexuality, and a feminist who fails to make gender the central theme in her writing (Ashbery 230). By using the female poetic voice, Moore brings out the position of women in the modern society as opposed to the earlier gendered roles.
Knowing Moore and Understanding her Background
Knowing Moore and understanding her background helps to interpret her view of modern life since she lived at a time when women were eager to initiate a big change. Moore was born in Kirkwood in 1887 and started writing poems at a young age, which she published in magazines and periodicals (Davis 229). Her work contained elements of a strong female voice in the poetry to talk about modernism. According to Logan Esdale, "Her voice was situated, one in a space with others" (48). The quote reveals that Moore's voice was a powerful tool for highlighting women challenges in a society that valued men and accorded them total control. Being the persona in the poem, she represents a feminine voice trying to raise some of the issues faced due to outdated society norms that placed men higher than women. Women were supposed to be lazy and busy in household works. Although the poem seems to describe techniques of writing poetry that are outdated, it has a deeper meaning on modernism values. The old practices in the society are outdated and people need to adopt new way of life.
Moore's Work: The Transition to Modernism
Moore's work Poetry depicts the transition to modernism in which the roles of men and women changed. The word "poetry" which she uses as the title of the poem can be taken to represent the customs at the time. This work therefore, criticizes the previous society and the practices while opening a way for modern values that accommodate men and women in similar roles. Later on when modernism was greatly accepted especially in the 1950s, Moore became one of the most respected poets for her critics of the previous customs in the poem Poetry. According to Jordan Davis (230), "Moore preferred writing and reading to teaching" thus she tries to show that traditional careers such as teaching can be overtaken by other careers in the modern era. Her poem is to convince people that they can engage in other activities rather than the known professions and have better lives. Modernism in this poem is about change and acceptance of new values, writing styles, and other life aspects in an individual and the entire society. Although she was a teacher, her greatest interest was in writing, which made her to be a highly respected person in the world. She revised the poem several times throughout her career, which portrays her unique way of doing things (Davis 231). She could not be confined to the traditional way of writing and the fact that her work was still appreciated show that modernism was accepted. Thus, Moore accomplished her goal of promoting new values and appreciation of life in the modern era.
Imagery and Hidden Meanings in Moore's Poetry
Moore's work is full of imagery created by the disciplined language that she uses to indicate the kind of values that she admired such as independence, courage, simplicity, as well as responsibility. To her, humans were besieged by threats to the principles that were set by the traditional society hindering adoption of modernism values. Although style of writing in Poetry affects the reader visually and emotionally, it is difficult to understand the hidden meaning without critically analyzing the work. The concrete images she presents appear to be of ordinary objects but carry a deeper meaning. George Bornstein for argues that "Poetry" has a particularly complex revision and publication history (222). Moore kept on revising giving it a new form indicting that people should also adopt new ways of life. For instance, she avoids use of masculine rhyme that was a norm during the era. Therefore, she is not under any pressure to compromise her beliefs and notions about modern values. To her, people's ignorance of the significance of things such as freedom of expression in writing makes them vulnerable. For instance, her poem is quite disorganized, as it does not follow the standard structure during the time. This reveals freedom of expression of modernism values and ideologies by upcoming poets. Moore was known to observe the natural phenomena as she uses animals symbolically in the work. For instance, the lines "The bat, upside down; the elephant pushing, a tireless wolf under a tree" (Moore 3-4) show her use of animals to criticize the norms of the traditional society. She implied that people had to see life in a new way and pave way for change. Human beings were accustomed to particular routines for men, women, way of writing, behavior, and acting to pave way for modern values. Her greatest concern is precision rather than the standout poetic style known at the time. Moore did not focus on a particular theme, style, or other artistic aspects while writing. Instead, she focused on passing the message and represent current situations in life. Her genuine poem makes her one of the greatest modernists who did not conform to past rules of writing. The future of poetry mattered most to her.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Moore's poem Poetry is unique and symbolic since it presents her views of modernism. She uses the behavior of animals to show that people are resistance to change and convince them that change was important. Values of modernism had to be accepted rather than sticking to the earlier societal norms that favored men and dictated people to behave in a certain manner. Critical reading of the poem helps to understand the theme of modernism as a new generation that embraced societal change emerged. Therefore, Moore's work gives insight of the period and the great need get rid of old styles of life.
Works Cited
Bornstein, George. "Flaring Marianne Moore: A Polemical Edition." Text 16 (2006): 217-228.
Davis Jordan. Marianne Moore: 1887–197. 229-238. file:///C:/Users/Hp/Downloads/Moore_Marianne_18871972%20(1).PDF
Esdale, Logan. "The Saintsbury Years of Marianne Moore." Textual Cultures: Text, Contexts, Interpretation 5.1 (2010): 46-75.
Hicok, Bethany. "To Work" Lovingly": Marianne Moore at Bryn Mawr, 1905-1909." Journal of Modern Literature 23.3 (2000): 483-501.
Moore Marianne. Poetry. (1919)
