The poetry of Marianne Moore is considered alongside its preoccupations with gender, American culture, and nature. The poem "A Grave" is presented as characteristic of the prose rhythms and discursive manner of Moore's poems, including their use of expository language without meter or rhyme. The poem "England" is read as a defense of American culture, in opposition to the Eurocentricism of Eliot, Pound, and other modernists. In the poem "An Octopus," Moore makes use of excerpts from pamphlets and other unusual prose sources to suggest that inspiration is not limited to any one voice or to literary models.

Reading assignment:

Marianne Moore: "To a Steam-Roller," "The Fish," "Black Earth," "England," "In the Days of Prismatic Color," "A Grave," "An Octopus," "The Paper Nautilus," "New York," "Sojourn in the Whale" Elizabeth Bishop: "Efforts of Affection"

Resources

Handout 9: Marianne Moore [PDF]