A Poem That Dislikes Itself

                                                A Poem That Dislikes Itself

During the modernist period in the early 1900’s, Western societies influence from religion declined as the development of science progressed civilization into a new genre of art. Through the excitement of scientific development, poets began to experiment with new branches of poetic form, which strayed away from the strict form of modernism. While the creativity of technological development allowed for the exploration of new horizons, poets were not ready to relinquish the comfort of a poetic form that followed a meter or rhyme scheme. Although God was no longer the source of poetic genius for modernist poets, this genre would not accredit the work of an author without their demonstration of the knowledge of a true poet, who implemented a poetic form that followed a specific pattern of stanzas. As a result of her major works, Marianne Moore is referred to as a modernist poet. Although this applies to the majority of her poetic career, her poem “Poetry” crosses boundaries, which removes it from the modernist genre. James McCorkle states that “postmodern poetry offers a passionate connection with the critique of our consciousness”, therefore allowing the reader into the mind of a poet (McCorkle 43). During the transition away from modernism, Moore’s poem serves as a voice of reason that supports the push towards postmodernism. Marianne Moore succeeds in progressing the next movement of postmodernism, with her rebellious use of free verse, and casual language used in her poem “Poetry”.

            In order to escape the reputation of a modernist, Moore reaches out to the common reader, and uses a language that is unconventional for most modernist poets.  The unconventional poetry reader is confronted by Moore’s confession; “I, too dislike it” (Moore 88). These four simple words evoke a feeling of comfort and connection with the poet, as a reader considers how little they might like poetry. Immediately this poem separates itself from the conventional modernist poet, who focuses on the complexity of their poem, rather than who will be interpreting their message. It is argued that, “for modernist, communication was typically conceived as a matter of voice rather than of audience or systems of communication…”, which relates to their concern for poetic superiority (Miller 61).  I believe that Moore directly addresses the audience in her poem in order to express her true feelings and thoughts. By being true to herself she is supporting a new idea of poetry, by transforming it into “a place for the genuine” which serves as the bases for her postmodern approach toward poetry (Moore 89). Through this reference to poetry as a place for the genuine, Moore’s dislike for poetry can translate into a dislike for the restrictions modernist poets place on poetry, as they fill their egos with a sense of privilege common readers are not entitled to. Moore reaches out to a new genre of poetry, as she requires a poet to deliver “’imaginary gardens with real toads in them’”(Moore 89). This line can be interpreted as a metaphor for the meshing of modernism with postmodernism, as they learn to accept different forms of poetry, while instilling expectations of a poets duty to make imaginations become real to the reader. This clash between these two genres of poetry is most apparent in Moore’s lack of structure and her lack of concern for the use of stanzas or meter.

            The blending of modernism with postmodernism is seen in the poetic form as Moore begins her poem as a highly structured poem, which quickly transcends into a free verse.  A free verse requires that a poem does not follow the rules of a metrical verse. Through the expression of free verse, the poet is encouraged to implement cadences, “phrases which fall into the symmetrical or nearly symmetrical pattern observed when speech rhythm is highly organized” demonstrating a more lenient structure which does not follow a strict pattern (Deutsch 58). In the first half of the poem this pattern cannot be missed as short indented lines connect stanzas, which are cut off before they have finished their statement. While Moore is retracting from the use of modernist form, her ability to implement this unconventional cadence structure demonstrates a desire to blend old methods of poetry with new ones. Through the development of this form I believe, Moore is attempting to escape the confinements in poetry, without butchering the poetic form entirely. Although the poet’s method of delivering their message to the audience may have differed between these two genres, I believe that Moore intended her poem to symbolize a unification between poets and their reader.  

            In order for a reader to understand the purpose of Marianne Moore’s poem “Poetry”, one must know the influence of modernism criteria for poetry, and how she failed to obey them. For this reason it is necessary to be informed of how this poem demonstrated a transition into postmodernism, which encourages its poet to be genuine and create a relationship with the reader, through their poetry.

                                                Work Cited

Duetsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook A Dictionary of Terms. New York: Harper

Perennial, 1981. Print.

McCorkle, James. "The Insription of Postmodernism in Poetry." International    

Postmodernism: Theory and Literary Practice. Ed. Hanes Bartens. Philadelphia: John    Benjamins, 1997. 43-50. International Postmodernism. Google Books. Web. <http://books.google.com/books?id=n_Eqx2Gr1vUC&lpg=PA43&ots=qXLEbq8aqi&dq=was%20marianne%20moore%20postmodern&pg=PR13#v=onepage&q=was%20marianne%20moore%20postmodern&f=true>.

Miller, Cristanne. Miriann Moore Questions Of Authority. Cambridge: Harvard UP,

1995. Print.

Moore, Mirianne. "Poetry." 100 Best-loved Poems. Comp. Philip Smith. New York:

Dover Publications, 1995. 88-89. Print.