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Imagination of Reality: 

Marianne Moore 

Mary E. Stanley 
University Honors 
Senior Project 
May 5, 1998 



Stanley 2 

Table of Contents 

Abstract .................................... 3 
Chronology .................................. 4 
Sample of Poetry ......................... 7-11 

"The Monkeys" .......................... 7 
"To a Steam Roller" .................... 8 
"The Past Is the Present" .............. 8 
" ourn in the Whale" ................. 9 
"What Are years?" ..................... 10 
"0 to Be a Dragon" .................... ll 
"I May, I Might, I Must" .............. ll 

Introduction-Biographical Essay ............ 12 
Poems with Explications ................. 17-33 

"The Fish" ...................... ..... . 17 
Explication of "The sh" ............. 18 
"Poetry" .............................. 23 

ication of "Poetry" ............... 24 
"The Mind Is an Echanting Thing" ...... 29 
Explication of "The Mind ... Thing" ..... 30 

Conclusion-Philosophy and Style Essay ...... 34 
Works Ci ted ................................ 38 



Stanley 3 

Abstract 

For my senior project, I chose to step away from my career 

interests of veterinary medicine and biology and to investigate a 

area of my own personal pursuit. I have always enjoyed poetry; 

therefore, I decided to research the life of the poet Marianne 

Moore and to explicate some of her works. One of the primary 

reasons that I picked Moore out of the numerous poets is her 

interesting view that poetry should be created through the use of 

real, concrete objects. I had read many of her works in the past 

and chose to study them in depth noting the similarities in 

Moore's works. 

After reviewing the vast number of works created by Marianne 

Moore, I realized that I must choose a few particular poems to 

illustrate. I chose "The Fish," "Poetry," and "The Mind Is an 

Enchanting Thing." All of these poems help to illustrate the 

main theme of Moore's poetry and all created vivid images in my 

mind when I read them for the first time. 

Through analyzing these three poems of Marianne Moore, I 

realized that Moore tends to have a strict structure to all of 

her poems and uses many literary devices to enhance the meaning 

and images created by her poems. Another common theme throughout 

all of Moore's poetry is that she uses common words that are not 

difficult to understand, words which the majority of her audience 

will already know the meaning. 



1887 

1894 

1896-
1905 

190 
1909 

1907 

1910 

1911 

1911-
1915 

1915 

1916 

1918 

stanley 4 

Chronology 

On November 15, Marianne Moore is born to John Milton 
and Mary (Warner) Moore Kirkwood, Missouri. 
Her father a nervous breakdown and goes to live 
with his parents. 
The rest of the family moves in with Moore's maternal 
grandfather, the Reverend John Riddle Warner. 

Moore, along with her mother and older brother 
John Warner Moore, move to Carlisle, Pennsylvania after 
Moore's grandfather, the Reverend John Riddle Warner, 
dies. 

Moore is educated at the Metzger Institute, a 
girl's school in Carlisle. 

She attends Bryn Mawr College where she 
receives her B.A.; she attends along with 
Doo lit tIe (H. D. ) . 

Ida 

Moore has some academic difficulties and begins 
to write poetry_ 
Moore's first published poerty appears in Bryn 
Mawr journals. 

Moore graduates from Carlisle Commercial College. 

She travels in England and France with mother. 

Moore begins to teach commercial subjects at 
the United States Indian School in Carlisle. 

Moore's first poems appear in the Egoist 
(London), Poetry (Chicago), and Others (New York). 

Moore moves to Chatham, New Jersey with her 
mother in order to keep house for her brother-­
now a Presbyterian minister like his 
grandfather. 

Moore moves to Greenwich Village, New York City, with 
her mother. 
Moore work's as a private tutor. 



1918 

1920 

1921 

1921-
1925 

1923 

1924 

1925 

1929 

1932 

1934 

1935 

1936 

1940 

1941 

1944 

1945 

1947 

1949 

meets many poets including William Carlos 
Williams and Wallace stevens. 

Moore's poems appear in The Dial. 

Press of London publishes Moore's 

Moore works part-time at the Hudson Park Branch 
of the New York Public Library. 

"Marriage" is published separately. 

Press publishes Moore's 
Moore receives the Dial Award. 

Moore becomes the acting editor of 

stops publishing. 
Moore and her mother move to Brooklyn, New York. 
Moore starts writing full time. 

The Helen Haire Levinson Prize for Poetry is 
awarded to Moore. 

Moore meets Elizabeth Bishop. 

Moore's Selected Poems is publi 
and in London with an introduct 
The Ernest Hartsock Memorial 
to Moore. 

in New York 
by T.S. Eliot. 

awarded 

Moore's The Pangolin and Other Verse is published. 

The Shelley Memorial Award is given to Moore. 

Moore's What Are Years? is published. 

Moore's Nevertheless is published. 
The Harriet Monroe Poetry Award is given to Moore. 

Moore receives a Guggenheim lowship. 
She helps translate Rock Crystal. 

Moore is elected to the National Institute of 
Arts and Letters. 
Moore's mother dies. 

"A Face" is published separately. 

Stanley 5 



1951 

1953 

1955 

1956 

1957 

1958 

1959 

1961 

1962 

1963 

1966 

1967 

1968 

1972 

1981 

Moore's Collected Poems is published. 
The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the National 
Book Award, and the Bollingen Prize is given to 
Moore. 

M. Carey Thomas Award and the National 
Institute of Arts Gold Medal for are 
awarded to Moore. 

Moore is elected a merr~er of the 
Academy of Arts and Letters. 

Moore's Like a Bulwark is published. 

can 

Moore participates in the Bollingen 
Poetry Festival at The Johns Hopkins University. 

Moore's Idiosyncracy and Technigue: Two 
Lectures is published. 

Moore's 0 to Be a Dragon is published. 

A Marianne Moore Reader is publi 

Moore's The Absentee: A Comedy in Four Acts is 
published. 

Moore translates "Puss in Boots," "The Sleeping 
Beauty," and "Cinderella" 1 by Charles 
Perrault. 

Moore moves to Manhattan. 

stanley 6 

Moore's The Complete Poems of Marianne Moore is published. 
The Edward MacDowell Medal and Poetry 
Society of America's Gold Medal are awarded to Moore. 

The National Medal for Li 
Moore throws out the first 
season at Yankee Stadium. 

On February 5, Marianne Moore 
at the age of eighty-four. 

Awarded to Moore. 
of the 

in her sleep 

The Complete Poems, defini tion with 
Moore's final revisions, is published. 



stanley 7 

The Monkeys 

winked too much and were afraid of snakes. The zebras, supreme in 
their abnormality; the elephants with their fog-colored skin 

and strictly practical arrendages 
were there, the small cats; and the parakeet-­

trivial and humdrum on examination, destroying 
bark and portions of the food it could not eat. 

I recall their magnificence, now not more magnificent 
than it is dim. It is difficault to recall the ornament, 

speech, and precise manner of what one might 
call the minor aquaintances twenty 

years back; but I shall not forget him--that Gilgamesh among 
the hairy carnivora - that cat with the 

wedge-shaped,slate-grey marks on its forelegs and the resolute tail, 
astingently remarking, "They have imposed on us with their pale 

half-fledged protestations, trembling about 
in inarticulate frenzy, saying 

it is not for us to understand art; finding it 
all so difficult, examining the thing 

as if it were inconceivably arcanic, as symmet-
rically frigid as if it had been carved out of chrysoprase 

or marble - strict with tension, malignant 
in its power over us and deeper 

than the sea when it proffers flattery in exchange for hemp, 
rye, flax, horses, platinum, timber, and fur." 

-Marianne Moore 



Stanley 8 

To a steam Roller 

illustration 
is nothing to you without the application. 

You lack half wit. You crush all the icles down 
into close conformity, and then walk back and forth on them. 

Sparkling chips of rock 
are crushed down to level of the parent block. 

Were not "impersonal judgement in aersthetic 
matters, a metaphysical impossibility," you 

might fairly acheive 
it. As for butterflies, I can hardly conceive 

of one's attending upon you, but to question 
the congruence of the complement is vain, if it exists. 

-Marianne Moore 

The Past Is the Present 

If external action is 
and rhyme is outmoded, 

I shall revert to you, 
Habakkuk, as when in a 

the teacher was speaking 
He said--and I think I 

"Hebrew poetry is prose 

class 
of unrhymed verse. 
his exact words, 

with a sort of heightened consciousness." Ecstast fords 
the occasion and expediency determines the form. 

-Marianne Moore 



stanley 9 

Sojourn ln Whale 

Trying to locked doors with a sword, threading 
the points of needles, planting shade trees 
upside down; swallowed by the opaqueness of one whom the seas 

love better than they love you, Ireland--

you have lived and lived on every kind of shortage. 
You have been compelled by hags to spin 
gold thread from a straw and have heard men say: 

"There a feminine temperment in direct contrast to ours, 

which makes her do these things. Circumscribed by a 
heritage of blindness and native 
incompetence, she will become wise and will be forced to give in. 

Compelled by experience, she will turn back; 

water seeks its own level": 
and you have smiled. "Water in motion is far 
from level." You have seen it, when obstacles happened to bar 

the path, rise automatically. 

-Marianne Moore 



What Are Years? 

What is our innocence, 
what is our guilt? All are 

naked, none is safe. And whence 
is courage; the unanswered question, 
the resolute doubt,--
dumbly calling, deafly listening--that 
in misfortune, even death, 

encourages others 
and in its defeat, stirs 

soul to be string? He 
sees deep and is glad, who 

accedes to mortality 
and in his imprisonment rises 
upon hims f as 
the sea in a chasm, struggling to be 

and unable to be, 
in its surrendering 
finds continuing. 

So he who strongly s, 
behaves. The very bird, 

grown taller as he sings, s 
form straight up. Though he is captive, 

his mighty singing 
says, sfaction is a lowly 
thing, how pure a thing is joy. 

This is mortality, 
this is eternity. 

-Marianne Moore 

Stanley 10 



o to Be a Dragon 

If I, like Solomon, ... 
could have my wish-

my wish ... O to be a dragon, 

stanley 11 

a symbol of the power of Heaven - of silkworm 
size or immense; at times invisible. 

Felicitous phenomenon! 

-Marianne Moore 

I MAY, I MIGHT, I MUST 

If you will tell me why the fen 
appears impassible, I then 
will tell you why I think that I 
can get across it as I try. 

-Marianne Moore 



stanley 12 

Introduction-Biographical Essay 

As a young college student at Bryn Mawr College in 1905, 

Marianne Moore "was burning with the desire to write" ("Moore" 

Current 266). The only thing standing in her way was 

self-confidence with academic English ("Moore" 

lack of 

266). She 

had worked diligently and for a long period of time on an English 

paper that would, although did not know it at the time, 

change her life forever ("Moore" Current 266). When young 

Marianne Moore handed in her paper to the English teacher, she, 

as most students would, hoped for the best. The paper was then 

handed back to the students. Moore's paper had writing in the 

margin that would cause her to change. The writing said, "'I 

presume you had an idea, if one could out what it is'" 

("Moore" Current 266). This one comment on her paper made her 

think that she was not meant to be a writer and work with words. 

At that point in Moore's life, she decided to leave English 

behind so that she could study biology and histology. Her time 

the laboratory would later luence her poetry_ Marianne 

Craig Moore would use her study of life and the details of life's 

tissue through science as a basis to write poetry. 

Marianne Moore was born on November IS, 1887, to John 

Milton and Mary (Warner) Moore. Marianne would never get to see 

her father though because John Milton had a nervous breakdown 



Stanley 13 

before her birth. He never recovered from his breakdown. Before 

little Marianne was born, her father went to live either with his 

parents or to a hospi 

("Moore" Current 266). 

Moore lived with 

, but no one is certain to which he went 

mother, brother, and maternal 

grandfather, the Reverend John Riddle Warner, until he died in 

1894. Moore's grandfather was an influence her life by being 

warm and affectionate to her family ("Moore" Something 128). 

With the little money to Moore's family her 

grandfather's death, moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania where 

would remain for many years. Because the ly had little 

money, her mother had to work as a teacher at the Metzger 

Institute for girls. Marianne went to school at the Metzger 

Institute where she said her interest in art and in the beauty of 

nature began ("Moore" Something 129). the Metzger 

Institute, Moore went to Bryn Mawr ColI where her conflict 

with English began. Moore later overcame her lack of sel 

confidence by mas the art of words through self-study wi 

her mother's guidance (Phillips 279). 

Although Miss Moore had already encountered the experience 

that would influence her poetry, Moore did not begin to wri 

poetry until 1907 while attending Bryn Mawr College. Her first 

poems were published the Bryn Mawr literary magazine and 

alumnae magazine same year. Moore did not think that 

published poetry was all that great or even good enough to draw 



stanley 14 

attention ("Moore" Something 129). After she graduated from the 

women's college in 1909, she entered Carlisle Commercial College 

where she took secretarial courses. Upon graduating from the 

Commercial College in 1910, Marianne and her mother traveled to 

England and France. She must have been influnced by the French 

writing style because much of her own style seems to be related 

to it ("Moore" Current 266). When Moore returned to the States, 

she began to teach commercial subjects at the United States 

Indian School in Carlisle. She quit teaching in 1915 when she 

had "To the Soul of Progress" published in The Egoist of London 

and Poetry of Chicago. In 1916 Marianne and her mother moved to 

Cathem to live with her older brother, John Warner Moore. He had 

followed his grandfather's footsteps in becoming a Presbyterian 

minister. 

After only two years, Moore and her mother moved to 

Greenwich Village in New York City where the young poet worked as 

a private tutor to make money. In 1921, Marianne Moore's first 

book, Poems, was published in England but she was not aware that 

it was going to be; Hilda Doolittle and other poets had put 

twenty-four of Moore's poems together. She could hardly believe 

that they would want to publish it ("Moore" Something 130). The 

book of poems received mixed reviews; more seemed to think the 

poems were not any good while a few admired them (Phillips 284). 

For the next four years, Moore worked part-time at the public 

library in New York and was encouraged to do so by T.S. Eliot 



stanley 15 

("Moore" Something 130). One of Moore's well-known poems, 

"Marriage," was published during this period. Moore hoped the 

poem would not be misunderstood; about marriage itself she said 

it was "the proper thing for everybody but ~" (Phillips 285). 

Marianne Moore's career as a poet began to take off during 

this time of her life; she received many awards and published 

many books of poetry_ In 1925, Dial Press published Moore's 

Observations that contained fifty-three of her poems. She 

received the Dial Award for Observations. Her next career move 

was to become the acting editor of The Dial, a large step from 

being a librarian. In 1929, after- only three years, The Dial 

stopped publishing. Moore and her mother then moved to Brooklyn 

where she began to write full time. In 1947, the same year she 

was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters, 

Moore's best friend and critic died ("Moore" Something 130) . 

Moore had lived with her mother her entire life except the four 

years when she was at college. Between 1932 and 1968, Moore 

received more than fifteen awards and honors for her poetry, some 

of which include the following: the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, 

the National Book Award, and the Bollingen Prize, all for 

Collected Poems. Moore also published more than ten books of 

poetry in this time period. 

Marianne Moore was a very lively lady even until she died 

in her sleep on February 5, 1972, at age eighty-four. She did 

not learn how to drive a car until the age of seventy and even 



stanley 16 

then she did not buy a car because she liked to ride subways 

in New York (Phillips 295). One of her favorite past-times was 

baseball, especially the Dodgers, for whom she wrote a poem. In 

1968, she threw out the first ball of the season at Yankee 

Stadium and carne to practice in midseason in 1967 (Phillips 295). 

Moore was always on the go, but enjoyed her privacy 

("Moore" Current 268). During her lifetime she became known for 

wearing her tricorn hat. Marinne Moore was a very active lady 

even though looked as if she would be very dull and strict. 

When she died, was still a very popular modern poet. 

Although some critics believe that Moore did not write as well 

once she had received all the recognition, they still enjoy her 

mind baffling work. In 1981, her last book of poems, 

Complete Poems, was published. 

An interesting note about Moore that she kept revising 

her poems and republishing them. "Poetry" went from being thirty 

lines with a strict structure to them, as most of her poems, to 

being only three lines long. Moore saw the constant need to 

revise as she herself grew. Structure, end rhyme, and imagery 

were three consistent motifs throughout most of poems. In 

her poems, she used many references to unique animals from her 

study of science in college; many of her poems seemed almost 

scienticic the detail given. Most of Moore's poems dealt with 

the mind creating images with its imagination using real objects. 

This underlying theme is shown throughout "The sh". 



The Fish 

wade 
through black jade. 

an 

Of the crow-blue mussel shells, one keeps 
adjusting the ash heaps; 

opening and shutting itself like 

injured fan. 

sun, 

The branches which encrust the side 
of the wave, cannot hide 

there for the submerged shafts of the 

split like spun 

the 

glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness 
into the crevices 

in and out, illuminating 

turquoise sea 

pink 

of bodies. The water drives a wedge 
of iron through the iron edge 

of the cliff; whereupon the stars, 

rice-grains, ink-
bespattered jellyfish, crabs like green 
lilies, and submarine 

toadstools, slide each on the other. 

All 
external 

marks of abuse are present of s 
defiant edifice--

all physical features of 

ac­
cident--Iack 

of cornice, dynami grooves, burns, and 
hatchet strokes, these things stand 

dead. 
Repeated 

out on it; the chasm side is 

evidence has prooved that it can live 
on what can not revive 

its youth. The sea grows old with it. 

-Marianne Moore 

stanley 17 



stanley 18 

Explication of "The Fish" 

In "The Fish," Marianne Moore uses visual imagery and the 

diction of the poem to demonstrate the relationship among the 

iff, the sea, and the creatures within the sea. Through the 

use of imagery, similes, metaphores, and alliteration, Moore is 

able to bring the sea to Ii as it crashes into the cli The 

theme of the poem discusses the power of the sea as wears 

against the cliff, a great strength itself, while also wearing 

against the life supported within it. Perpetual change is seen 

throughout the poem showing that neither the sea, nor the cliff, 

nor man can turn back the aging process. She also parallels 

society's destruction of nature with the sea's destruction of the 

cliff. Moore deals with a deep subject matter, but she goes 

about it using imagery with common objects (Hall 362). 

Moore uses imagery to allow one's mind to picture the action 

taking place in "The Fish." In the fi stanza of the poem, 

Moore personi the fish as they "wadel through black jade," an 

action normally used to describe man. The "black jade" creates 

the image of the thick, dark water of the sea filled with 

mussels. The poem goes on to discuss the movement in the sand of 

the mussel-shells which, through the use of a simile, are seen to 

look like "ani injured fan." Crow-blue is the color used to 

describe the mus -shells, allowing the reader to visualize 

their appearance in the sand. Again Moore uses a simile to 



stanley 19 

enhance the description of the image of the sun rays coming 

through the water by comparing them to "spun glass," informing 

the audience, who is not identifiable, that the setting of the 

poem at sea during midday. The simile adds to the visual 

imagery produced in "The Fish." The water is then described as a 

"turquoise seal of bodies" creating in the imagination a scene of 

the lovely colored sea full of life. Visual imagery is also used 

through the personification of the sea water as it "drives" 

particles of iron to gather on the iff with the iron that was 

previously present. The image created in one's mind is that of 

powerful waves crashing onto the cliff leaving their remnants 

behind. The visual scene of the sea animals and sea life ing 

the cliff, the shore, and each other is also created as the poem 

moves on. 

Moore utilizes implied metaphors to create imagery in "The 

Fish." The cli is implied to be a "defiant edifice" showing 

the power and strength that allow it to survive the constant wear 

and tear, or aging, that it suffers. "The barnacles which 

encrust the side/ of the wave" is also an implied metaphor 

comparing the wave to a ship, which usually has barnacles 

encrusted on its sides. Alliteration of an "s" sound is also 

present in "The sh" helping to create the auditory sense of the 

crashing waves. Rather than the rest of the imagery being 

created through Moore's use of figurative devices, the images are 

created through the wonderfully chosen words that describe the 

scene. 



stanley 20 

The diction in "The Fish" allows the images needed to 

understand the poem to be created in the mind of the reader. 

Concrete rather than abstract words are expressed in "The Fish" 

allowing the reader to understand all of the subj being 

discussed; therefore, the mind is allowed to sualize all of the 

images without wondering if it is correct. Moore not only helps 

the reader's understanding of the poem through the use of 

concrete words, she also uses common words but in a sophisticated 

manner. 

In the stanza, the words become more abstract in 

meaning as the poem shifts to describe the chasm side and the 

"emotional focus of the poem" (Lisk 776). The emotional focus of 

the poem is that not even the sea can turn back time nor can one 

stop change. As in many of Marianne Moore's poems, one of 

underlying themes to grasp the meaning of poetry through the 

use of one's imagination using concrete objects to form the 

images. Moore chooses descriptive words throughout the poem and 

gives many examples when scussing the life in the sea and the 

destruction done by man to nature. These examples enable the 

reader to create better, more id pictures in his or her own 

mind; therefore, the destruction on the iff is seen to also be 

man's fault. The images that are created in one's mind show the 

relationship between the sea which crashes into the cliff, 

wearing it away yet allowing it to grow larger, with the new iron 

deposits left on it. They also allow the reader to see that the 

Ii living within the sea live on the sea and so wear at the 



stanley 21 

i 

In "The Fish," Moore tells of the relationship in the sea 

and of the destruction both the sea and man cause on the 

iff and in nature. Although the imagery and the diction of 

poem help convey its theme, the tone and structure of "The Fish" 

help make the poem more readable allowing 

more. The tone of "The Fish" is like 

reader to imagine 

of many of Marianne 

Moore's other poems; is declarative and didactic. Moore again 

has a strict pattern of structure. "The sh" has eight stanza, 

I of which are quintets. The structure is still unusual; the 

lines are arranged by syllables with each line of each stanza 

having the following number of syllables, respectively, I, 3, 9, 

6, 8. The lines are also set up in a ing manner on 

page having the fi two lines of each stanza lined up with 

margin, the next two lines of each stanza indented equally, and 

the fifth line of stanza indented even more. As one looks 

down the left side of the page, the I seem to form the 

pattern of waves ris and falling. Another repetitive style of 

Moore's that is seen in "The Fish" is the title of the poem 

is the first line of the poem as well. "The Fish" is not about a 

sh except in the rst three lines of poem. 

Although some may not agree, Gilbert Sorrentino, a critic of 

poetry, believes " 

it discusses 

sh" is Marianne Moore's best poem saying 

inherent evil in I (262). This inherent 

evil that Sorrentino sees is the cause of man's destruction of 

nature. The main theme of "The Fish" is to show that the 



relationships and powers of 

stanley 22 

sea and man upon nature will 

never cease, but that nature will continue to grow in size 

because of what the sea and man leave behind. But, as stated 

earlier, underlying theme of all Marianne Moore's poems is to 

learn poetry through the imagination of the Ii 1. 



stanley 23 

Poetry 

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle. 
Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers in it 
after all, a place for the genuine. 

Hands that can grasp, eyes 
that can dilate, hair that can rise 

if it must, these things are important not because a 

high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because they are 
useful. When they become so derivative as to become unintelligible, 
the same thing may be said for all of us, that we 

do not admire what 
we cannot understand: the bat 

holding upside down or in quest of something to 

eat, elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll, a tireless wolf under 
a tree, the immovable critic twitching his skin like a horse that feels a 

flea, the base-
ball fan, the satisfaction-­

nor is it valid 
to discriminate against "business documents and 

school-books", all these phenomena are important. One must make a 
distinction 
however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not 

poetry, 
nor till the poets amoung us can be 

"literalists of 
the imagination"--above 

insolence and trivality and can present 

for inspection, "imaginary gardens with real toads in them," shall we have 
it. In the meantime, if you demand on the hand, 
the raw material of poetry in 

all its rawness and 
that which is on the other hand 

genuine, you are interested in poetry. 

-Marianne Moore 



Stanley 24 

Explication of "Poetry" 

In "Poetry," Marianne Moore uses diction and imagery to 

express the theme of the poem which focuses on what poetry is and 

how to go about thinking to understand poetry_ Unlike many of 

her other poems, "Poetry" has very few figurative devices other 

than imagery and diction. ke all of her other poetry, Moore 

uses a structure that is continuous throughout the poem. 

"Poetry" has six stanzas all of which contain s lines. The 

t line is the only line flush against the margin while the 

second and third lines are indented equally. Lines four and five 

of each stanza are also indented equally but they are indented a 

litt further than the first indentation. The sixth line of 

each stanza is indented the farthest of all the lines in the 

stanza. The structure of "Poetry" allows one's mind to as 

if were dri ing; therefore, more images may come into the 

mind. 

Moore utilizes familiar conversational diction in "Poetry" 

to allow the reader to understand her definition of poetry more 

easily. By using such words as us and we Moore is able to 

identify with the audience, which is all of the world, even other 

poets and herself. This identification with the audience makes 

it easier to identify with the purpose of the poem. Although 

Moore's choice of words "Poetry" educated, the words are 

easy to understand without the aid of a dictionary. The words 

low the reader to understand first stanza in which Moore, 



stanley 25 

the speaker, states that she dislikes poetry as most other people 

do and that other things are more important than the frustration 

caused by writing it. Moore goes on to say that even wi a 

"perfect contempt" for , the reader discovers that the 

"genuine" or the does have a place in poetry. Moore's 

diction creates wonderful images as she goes on to discuss the 

need for real objects to be in poetry and why most people do not 

understand 

Many visual images are created in "Poetry" which allow the 

reader to have a greater understanding of poet's goal in 

writing the poem. Moore mentions that examples of real objects 

in poetry are "Hands that can grasp, eyes/ that can dilate, hair 

that can rise/ if it must." Maureen W. Mills, a critic of Moore, 

suggests that these examples create an image in one's mind of an 

actual hand grasping at something it cannot reach, a large eye 

dilating, and hairs sticking straight up after someone has been 

frightened rather than an idealized image of dainty white hands 

and perfect eyes and hair (1710). She goes on to explain that 

the reason that objects should be used in poetry is that 

they are useful for understanding, not to be interpreted. If one 

tries to interpret the objects too much, they are not understood; 

therefore, poetry is not enjoyed. Moore suggests that one must 

understand before one can appreciate. Examples are then given of 

real objects in unusual situations such as "a wild horse taking a 

role, ... , the immovable critic twitching his skin like a horse 

that feels a flea;" all of these examples are actually humorous 



to think about. Visual images are created 

stanley 26 

allow one to see in 

order to understand what Moore is trying to say about poetry. If 

one tries to pick apart the meaning in these examples the point 

will be lost; therefore, that is why one should look carefully at 

them as well as the rest of poetry in order to see the true, real 

meaning through the imagination of the mind. All the real 

subjects the world may be used an infinite number of times, 

Moore points out, if the reader remembers to let the mind create 

images. She states that even the boring subjects of "Business 

documents and/ school-books," an allusion to Leo Tolstoy's 

quotation on the difference between prose and poetry (McDowell), 

can be made interesting if the mind imagines. Only the true 

poets, Moore says, are "literalists of the imagination," another 

allusion to William Blake (McDowell), meaning to make images of 

the mind into literal objects. These ideal poets of Moore's are 

able to discuss art and poetry as one (Costello 271). Moore's 

most famous quotation that so draws a picture in the mind of 

the reader, "imaginary gardens with real toads in them," sums up 

Moore's meaning of "Poetry." One must be able to create 

imaginary pictures in his or her mind and be able to place real 

objects that do not always have a pleasant nature them, such 

as a toad, in order to understand poetry. If were not for the 

images drawn from the reading of "Poetry," the reader would have 

a hard time grasping the meaning of the poem. 

In order to further help the audience in understanding the 

message "Poetry," Moore did utilize a few other figurative 



stanley 27 

devices. Moore used paradoxes when discussing the literalists 

and the imaginary gardens. Bernard F. Engel, another of Marianne 

Moore's critics, believes that these apparent contradictions with 

their witty side are the essence of Moore ( 7). Moore also uses 

the repetition of the word "thing," a word normally only used in 

personal conversation, to reinforce the didactic and personal 

tone of "Poetry." Although Moore uses end rhyme in many of her 

poems, such as "The Fish" and "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," 

in "Poetry" she writes in free verse. As myself, I believe 

that the reason for this may be to allow the mind to have no 

restraints when imagining the pictures of the poem. Maureen w. 

Mills shows that in the lines "Hands that can grasp, eyes/ that 

can dilate, hair that can se," Moore uses internal rhyme to 

keep the flow of the poetic line internally (1711). As in her 

other poems the title of "Poetry" is actually the first line of 

the poem. Although she does talk about poetry in the poem, she 

talks about imagery more, just as, in "The Fish," Moore discusses 

fish but she discusses the waves and cliff considerably more. 

Moore does an excellent job at conveying her message about 

using one's imagination in order to understand the concrete part 

poetry in her poem "Poetry." She is only able to succeed at 

this task by using wonderful imagery and diction to create that 

imagery. The personal yet didactic tone of "Poetry" also helps 

convey the theme to the reader. Although this version of "Poetry 

came out in 1921, Marianne Moore later cut it down to only three 

lines as she did much of her work; she changed her poetry as she 



Stanley 28 

changed (Nitchie 397). As in "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," 

Moore is saying to use one's mind in order to grasp the 

meaning of poetry. 



The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing 

is an enchanted thing 
like the glaze on a 

katydid-wing 
subdivided by sun 

11 the nettings are legion. 
Like Gieseking playing Scarlatti; 

like the apteryx-awl 
as a beak, or the 

kiwi's rain shawl 
of haired feathers, the mind 
feeling its way as though blind, 

walks along with its eyes on the ground. 

It has memory's ear 
that can hear without 

having to hear. 
Like the gyroscope's 1, 
truly unequivocal 

because trued by regnant certainty, 

it is a power of 
strong enchantment. It 

is like the dove-
neck animated by 
sun; it is memory's eye; 

it's conscientious inconsistency. 

It tears off the veil; tears 
the temptation, the 

mist the heart wears, 
from its eyes--if the heart 
has a face; takes apart 

dejection. It's re in the dove-neck's 

iridescence; in the 
inconsistencies 

of Scarlatti. 
Unconfusion submits 
its confusion to proof: it's 

not a Herod's oath that cannot change. 

-Marianne Moore 

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stanley 30 

Explication of "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" 

As in "The Fish" and in "Poetry," Marianne Moore again 

conveys the message in "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" that the 

mind creates images using the objects of the world to give the 

mind an active role in poetry; she focuses on the mind's active 

role in the world. To express this theme, the poem explores the 

mind and s function. Moore uses a didact tone informing the 

audience, which is not identifiable, of the mind's roles. The 

use of figurative language provides insights into the poem's 

subject. The action of the poem does not have a distinct setting 

nor occasion, but the poem does take place during World War II as 

seen by the reference to Gieseking. 

Although the diction of "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" is 

fairly common, Moore juxtaposes words in such a way that not only 

are new and unusual images brought to mind but also the new 

images make the poem harder to understand. Out of all 

Marianne Moore's poems, "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" seems 

to be one of the hardest to comprehend. As Mr. Andy Smith tried 

to interpret the poem he said, "This is one of the hardest damn 

poems I've ever tried to interpret." The language of the poem is 

actually easy to understand, but the meaning of it is hard to 

grasp. Although in most of Moore's poems concrete words are 

used, in this poem many of the words are abstract in their 

meaning. The mind itself is not a real, concrete word because it 

has so many complicated and sophisticated parts that make it up 



stanley 31 

that not many people understand. Other words and phrases Moore 

uses that have abstract meaning are "enchanting," 

"inconsistency," "confusion," and "power of strong enchantment." 

The sentences of the poem are, for the most part, rather long. 

As always, Moore makes use of a strict structure. The poem 

is made of six stanzas of sextets, all of which have the same 

organization. In each stanza the first, third, and sixth lines 

are flush against the margin while the second line is indented 

and the fourth and the fifth lines are indented even further. As 

in her other poems, Moore has a set number of syllables for each 

line (6, 5, 4, 6, 7, 9). The poem has end rhyme scheme which is 

in the pattern of abaccd. Moore has a pattern throughout most of 

her poetry of using strict structure and form. 

In "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing," Marianne Moore makes 

use of visual imagery by using figuative language as she does in 

both "Poetry" and "The Fish." Similes, which are prevalent in 

this poem, make a comparison between the mind and many other 

concrete or real objects. Moore compares the mind to "the glaze 

on a/ katydid-wing" which is separated by the sun's rays, 

"Gieseking" a German pianist who played "Scarlatti," and the kiwi 

bird's beak and feathers. These comparisons between the unlike 

objects cause the reader to visualize the objects and the 

relationship they have with the mind making the poem more than 

just words on paper. These similes show that the mind itself 

even though it is abstract is actually able to be seen as an 

object with many complex parts while they also show "the mind's 



Stanley 32 

power of observation" (Ames 1391). The mind's power of 

observation is then shown through personi cation which suggests 

that the mind starts "blind" as walks through life observing 

genuine objects. Metonomy is present as the poet uses "ear" 

represent hearing. Mrs .. Linda Mines points out that the poem 

displays the power of the mind by saying that the mind has "the 

mental capacity to remember" something heard only once or even 

replay in the mind. The mind is then said to be "unequivocal" 

as is compared to a "gyroscope's fall" which has power and 

cannot be equaled. Another simile is used to compare the mind to 

a "dove-neck" that moves because of the warmth of the sun. The 

image created by this simile is a wonderful picture seen in the 

mind (Smith). The mind is compared to the eye, which is a 

metonomy for vision, through a metaphor. This comparison is also 

made by Mr. Smith saying that everyone can draw because of the 

mind's eye which creates pictures of objects never built except 

in the mind. Smith also says that is interesting that the 

mind said to be conscientious inconsistent because that is 

the way man's behavior is. The mind's power is also seen by the 

way can handle the body's emotions when the body's heart 

cannot deal with them. The mind is then shown to be forever 

changing as "Scarlatti," the work of music. Through an allusion 

to King Herod in the Bible, the mind is again shown to be 

changing whereas Herod did not change his order to behead John 

the Baptist (Ames 1392). The mind is said to be an enchanted 

thin, a metaphor, meaning that the mind is fascinated by 



stanley 33 

objects of the world. Yet, it is also an amazing abstract object 

itself that can be seen as real through all of the comparisons to 

real objects made in the poem. 

Moore wants man to use his mind to visualize images that 

contain real objects and to use the mind's power to reason. 

Moore able to convey this throughout the poem through her 

creative use of figuative language and creative diction. Mrs. 

Mines adds that the poem shows that "the mind has the ability to 

question, balance and resolve many of the major dilemmas of 

society." This statement of Mrs. Mines reveals the mind's power 

discussed throughout the poem by Marianne Moore. As in her other 

poems, Moore's goal is to get man to create images in his mind 

using real objects. 



stanley 34 

Conclusion-Philosophy and Style Essay 

"Imaginary gardens with real toads in them," the central 

theme throughout all of Marianne Craig Moore's poetry. She wants 

man to use his mind, and yet to use concrete objects as well. 

She does not see poetry as a subject that should be straight 

forward nor does she want every reader see the same image as 

they read poetry. Denis Donoghue, a critic of Moore, says that 

she provides the direction for the mind's energy to move (292). 

Moore is also very mechanical in the way she sees the world. She 

makes comparisons between many objects that would normally not 

seem to go together such as the mind and a gyroscope's fall both 

being "unequivocal." Moore always seems to take on a didactic 

tone as if she is trying to teach the reader; this may be a 

result from her teaching experience in her younger days. 

Moore's grandfather and brother were both Presbyterian 

ministers and her mother was very religious. Although Moore is 

religious in a few of her poems such as "When I Buy Pictures" 

where she brings religion into the poem while still keeping her 

style of noticing great detail in the world, she believed her 

mother and grandfather were almost too religious ("Moore" Current 

266). Marianne Moore was also a Presbyterian who believed in God 

but she seems to lean toward nature as part of God's wonderful 

creation in her poetry. 

Moore's philosophy that the imagination interpret objects 

and matters of Ii because it has so much power is rather 



stanley 35 

optimistic. She seems to see that man destroys nature in "the 

Fi "and that man needs to make use of the powerful mind that 

God has given him. As seen "Poetry," Moore seems to think the 

role of the artist is to create the imaginary out of the real so 

that the non-artist can recognize it, too. The attitude of 

Marianne Moore seems to be very benevolent and generally happy. 

To create her imagery, Moore belives in using structure and 

figurative language. 

Marianne Moore writes in a style that involves using 

imagery, structure, and diction. To creat the imagery, Moore 

uses many figurative devices such as metaphors, similes, 

literation, allusions, and metonomy. She li to use words 

that cause visual imagery to take place in the mind. Concrete 

words are also used by Moore throughout her poems allow the 

reader to grasp the idea of using the real with the imagined. 

"The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing" is a wonderful example where 

concrete is compared to the abstract (the glaze on katydids' wing 

to the mind). In many of Moore's poems the first line of the 

poem is actually the title of the poem. Quotations from other 

people, books, and other sources are used often in Moore's poems. 

William Barrett said that where many would make mistakes if they 

quoted others like Moore, but Moore "has a genius for singling 

out the apt line or passage" ("Moore" Current 267). Martin 

Dodsworth, a critic, points out that Moore's "love of detail," 

use of "accurate words," utilization of "lengthy catalogues of 

names and things," and "her startling ability to detect likeness 



stanley 36 

in the most unlikely places," all of which are very much a part 

of Marianne Moore's style, "are based on an almost childlike 

respect for the truth" (291). 

Moore's style and philosophy seem to have stayed pretty 

constant throughout her Ii When her mother died, it was a 

very tragic event in Moore's life, but it did not seem to change 

her poetry because she accepted the death so well. Moore's 

influences in poetry were prose stylists ("Moore" Current 266). 

Moore's writing covered most of her life time starting in 1907 

and going to her death. She was recognized by many during her 

life time as being a great poet some even call her the greatest 

modern poet (Phillips 298) . 

Marianne Moore is more of an great imagist poet than any 

other kind even though she has a hard time classifying herself as 

a great poet. Moore is from Missouri although she loves New 

York. Some of the most shaping moments of her life are when the 

teacher in college did not understand her paper, one which I can 

understand, when her mother died, as well as growing up without a 

father. Although there were times when Moore did not have much 

money to spare, most of her life she had plenty. On the whole, 

Marianne Moore was a fairly normal poet with a fairly good life 

of modern times. 

As for this reader of Marianne Moore, I have come to enjoy 

her a great deal. I chose her because she seemed fairly normal 

and she seemed to write with diction that I understood. Her 

imagery is so powerful that no matter if you miss it once, you 



Stanley 37 

will see it in the next line. I believe he greatest poem of all 

time is "Poetry." Although at first glance, I had difficulty 

understanding her theme, after a second look I believe it is 

almost impossible to miss. I think her poetry would stand out 

among the crowd. 



stanley 38 

Works Cited 

Ames, Christopher. "The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing." 

Masterplots II. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem 

Press, 1990. V: 1391-1393. 

Bloom, Harold. Marianne Moore. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 

Costello, Bonnie. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Eds. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. 

Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. 47: 271-272. 

Dodsworth, Martin. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Eds. Barbara Harte and Carolyn Riley. Detroit: 

Gale Research, 1974. 2: 291. 

Donoghue, Denis. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Eds. Barbara Harte and Carolyn riley. Detroit: 

Gale Research, 1974. 2: 291-292. 

Engel, Bernard F. "Moore, Marianne." 

Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. 

1973. 1: 227-228. 

Contemporary Literary 

Detroit: Gale Research, 

Hall, Donald. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Detroit: Gale Research, 

1975. 4: 3 -364. 

Lisk, Thomas. "The sh." Masterplots II. Ed. Frank N. Magill. 

Pasadena: Salem Press, 1990. V: 775-777. 

MCDowell, Philip G. Personal interview. 16 Mar. 1998. 



Stanley 39 

Mills, Maureen W. "Poetry." Masterplots II. Ed. Frank N. 

Magill. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1992. V. 1710-1712. 

Mines, Linda. Personal interview. 4 April 1998. 

"Moore, Marianne (Craig)." Current Biography Yearbook 1968. Ed. 

Charles Moritz. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1969. 

265-268. 

"Moore, Marianne (Craig).n Something about the Author. Ed. 

Anne Cornmire. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. 20: 128-133. 

Nitchie, George W. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Eds. Dedria Bryfonski and Phyllis Carmel 

Mendelson. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978. 8: 397-402. 

Phillips, Elizabeth. "Marianne Moore." Dictionary of Literary 

Biography: American Poets, 1880-1945. Ed. Peter 

Quartermain. Detroit: Gale Research, 1986. 45: 277-300. 

Smith, Andy. Personal interview. 27 Mar. 1998. 

Sorrentino, Gilbert. "Moore, Marianne." Contemporary Literary 

Criticism. Eds. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. 

Detroit: Gale Research, 1988. 47: 261-263.