Historical Context
Literature and Art of the 1920s
In 1919, when the initial version of “Poetry” appeared in the journal Others, society was still reeling—both figuratively and literally—from the aftermath of World War I, which had concluded the year before. During this period, poets and novelists began experimenting with form and subject matter, striving to create works that captured the pervasive uncertainty, fear, and anxiety. T. S. Eliot’s poetry collections, including Prufrock and Other Observations (1917), Poems (1920), and The Wasteland (1922), epitomized this through fragmentation, allusion, irony, myth, and symbolism. Ezra Pound, a significant influence on many modernist poets, urged writers to “make it new” and emphasized the importance of the image in his poetics. Besides publishing and translating works like The Sonnets and Ballate of Guido Cavalcanti (1912), Hugh Selwyn Mauberly (1920), and Personae (1926), Pound also mentored numerous authors including Eliot, William Carlos Williams, and James Joyce, and supported emerging literary magazines such as Poetry and The Little Review. In “Hugh Selwyn Mauberly,” Pound referred to the devastation of World War I as “wastage as never before” and spoke of “disillusions as never told in the old days.” Moore, who corresponded with Pound, Eliot, Williams, Wallace Stevens, and many other influential poets, avoided emotionalism in her writing. She focused on depicting the physical world with precise, detailed imagery, often framed within argumentative structures. She also incorporated quotations from other texts throughout her poetry. Moore established her reputation as both a poet and critic by publishing in smaller, newer journals such as Poetry, founded in 1912, The Egoist, a magazine of imagist verse, and Others, as well as serving as an editor for The Dial, a prestigious literary journal of the 1920s.
Moore’s emphasis on the “genuine” in poetry was a concern shared by early twentieth-century painters. However, their approach to subject matter was more abstract than Moore’s. Instead of precise representation, painters experimented with abstract depictions of ideas and objects. Cubists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque deconstructed their subjects, analyzed them, and then reassembled them in abstract forms. Picasso’s painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, often regarded as the first Cubist painting, portrayed five nude women in an angular and distorted manner, disrupting the continuity of the human body and creating an almost three-dimensional effect. Other art movements of the time, such as surrealism, futurism, imagism, and dadaism, aimed to provoke viewers and readers to perceive the world in new ways. In addition to the war, events such as Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, the rise of the automobile and radio, the implementation of Daylight Savings Time in America, and the women's suffrage movement contributed to reshaping how people thought about and experienced their world and each other.
Following the war, numerous American writers relocated to Europe, where they could enjoy a high quality of life at a lower cost. In search of fresh inspiration and to reinvigorate their weary spirits, authors like Malcolm Cowley, Ezra Pound, Archibald MacLeish, and Ernest Hemingway settled in France, Spain, and Italy. Many of these expatriates gravitated towards Gertrude Stein, a wealthy American art collector and writer who hosted "salons" at her apartment at 27, rue de Fleurus in Paris. These gatherings attracted artists, writers, and musicians such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Virgil Thompson, and many others who played key roles in shaping the modernist movement. Observing their restlessness and noting that many of the American writers who surrounded her were morally and spiritually lost, Stein dubbed the group "a lost generation." Although she had visited Europe before the war, Moore remained in...
(This entire section contains 606 words.)
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the United States during and after the conflict, living with her mother in Manhattan.
Style and Technique
Literary style and technique form the backbone of poetic expression, allowing poets to convey emotions and ideas with unique flair. Many poets utilize specific structural choices to bring their poetic visions to life. Marianne Moore, a pioneer in the realm of modernist poetry, exemplifies this with her inventive use of syllabic verse and varied typography.
Syllabic Verse as a Subtly Structured Form
Moore's poetry is often categorized under free verse, which liberates the poem from the constraints of regular rhyme and meter. Rather than adhering to traditional patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables, Moore opts for syllabics—a technique that emphasizes a consistent number of syllables per line across stanzas. This subtle structuring allows her poetry to echo the rhythms of everyday speech more naturally. For instance, in her poem "Poetry," each stanza concludes with a line containing thirteen syllables, creating a cohesive thread throughout the poem.
The Role of Typography in Poetic Expression
Typography in poetry can significantly influence how a poem is read and understood. Moore employs this to great effect by manipulating the visual arrangement of lines on the page. She often uses equal indentation to highlight rhyming lines, such as the lines ending with "eyes" and "rise," or "and" and "hand." This technique not only creates visual harmony but also invites readers to uncover the subtle rhymes embedded within the text. Moore's use of slant rhymes, or off rhymes, further adds to this effect, offering a nuanced auditory experience akin to the natural flow of conversation. For example, the pairing of "baseball fan" and "statistician" showcases how close sounds can engage readers without exact rhyme.
Creating Natural Rhythms Through Poetic Devices
By eschewing overt rhymes, Moore crafts a poem that resonates with the subtleties of human speech. Her innovative approach mutes obvious rhyme schemes, allowing the reader to savor the delicate interplay of sounds as they might occur organically. This technique, combined with her use of syllabics, creates a form that feels both spontaneous and meticulously crafted. Readers are encouraged to listen to the music inherent in language, a music that mirrors the complexities and nuances of real-life conversations.
Through her adept use of style and technique, Moore demonstrates that poetry does not need to conform to rigid structures to be impactful. Her work invites readers into a world where the rhythm of spoken language and the visual layout of text work in tandem to enhance meaning and emotional depth. By blending these elements, Moore's poetry exemplifies the innovative spirit of modernism, challenging conventional approaches and offering fresh perspectives on what poetry can achieve.
Compare and Contrast
1920s: The Roaring Twenties in America was marked by economic prosperity and a pursuit of pleasure, as people tried to move on from the upheavals caused by World War I.
Today: In the aftermath of a terrorist attack on New York City, Americans display their patriotism while being cautious with their spending. Millions of American flags are sold nationwide.
1920s: Although some schools offer classes in poetry and fiction writing, no American college or university provides a degree in creative writing.
Today: Hundreds of American colleges and universities offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in creative writing. Many graduates find employment teaching at universities.
1920s: The 19th Amendment grants American women the right to vote.
Today: While women have greater representation in industry and government compared to eighty years ago, they still earn less than men in equivalent positions.
1920s: There is a minor boom in literary journals and magazines showcasing the works of experimental writers like Ezra Pound, e. e. cummings, and Marianne Moore.
Today: The internet has made publishing more accessible and affordable than ever before. Thousands of “e-zines” featuring a wide range of writing quality have emerged in the past decade, with new ones appearing daily.
Adaptations
Moore recites her poems on the Caedmon Treasury of Modern Poets Reading Their Own Poetry, available from Caedmon/HarperAudio. You can reach them at P.O. Box 588, Dunmore, Pennsylvania 18512.
Caedmon/HarperAudio also offers Marianne Moore Reading Her Poems & Fables from La Fontaine.
In 1965, Audio-Forum released an audiocassette of Moore reading her poems, titled Marianne Moore Reads Her Poetry. Audio-Forum is a division of Jeffrey Norton Publishers, located at 96 Broad St., Guilford, Connecticut 06437.
In 1987, The Annenberg/CPB Project created Voices and Visions, a series of documentaries on modern American poetry that aired on public television. One episode, Marianne Moore: In Her Own Image, focuses on Moore. This series is available in many libraries and video stores.
Bibliography
Sources
Birkerts, Sven, “Marianne Moore’s ‘Poetry’: She Disliked It, She Did,” in The Electric Life: Essays on Modern Poetry, William Morrow and Co., 1989, pp. 127–37.
Costello, Bonnie, Marianne Moore: Imaginary Possessions, Harvard University Press, 1981, p. 20.
Dickey, James, “Marianne Moore,” in Babel to Byzantium, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1968, pp. 156–63.
Eliot, T. S., “Introduction,” in Selected Poems by Marianne Moore, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1935, pp. vii–xiv.
Engel, Bernard F., Marianne Moore, Twayne, 1989, p. 160.
Hall, Donald, Marianne Moore: The Cage and the Animal, Pegasus, 1970, pp. 40–42.
Honigsblum, Bonnie, “Marianne Moore’s Revisions of ‘Poetry,’” in Marianne Moore: Woman and Poet, edited by Patricia C. Willis, National Poetry Foundation, 1990.
Joyce, Elizabeth W., Cultural Critique and Abstraction: Marianne Moore and the Avant-Garde, Bucknell University Press, 1998, pp. 33–37.
Moore, Marianne, The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore, Macmillan, 1967, p. 36.
—, “The Genuine in ‘Poetry’: A Letter from Marianne Moore,” in the Marianne Moore Newsletter, No. 5, Fall 1981, pp. 14–15.
Further Reading
Abbott, Craig S., Marianne Moore: A Descriptive Bibliography, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977. Abbott compiles primary and secondary sources on Moore. This is an excellent research tool, though it only extends to 1975.
Allen, Frederick Lewis, Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s, Harper Perennial Library, 2000. Originally published in 1931, Only Yesterday explores the rise of post–World War I prosperity leading up to the Wall Street crash of 1929. It is set against the backdrop of flappers, prohibition, and the emergence of the women’s suffrage movement.
Molesworth, Charles, Marianne Moore: A Literary Life, Atheneum, 1990. Molesworth’s biography is the most comprehensive on Moore’s life. Using Moore’s letters and diaries, he skillfully links the poet’s work to her personal experiences.
Stapleton, Laurence, Marianne Moore: The Poet’s Advance, Princeton University Press, 1978. Stapleton’s accessible critical study of Moore’s poetry contains substantial biographical information and connects her work to that of other poets.
