Poetry By Marianne Moore Essay

Poetry: A work of art or chaos? Out of all the poems we have read so far, one was easier to comprehend and connect with than the others. The poem that was chosen to be analyzed was “Poetry by: Marianne Moore”. The poem is set from Marianne’s own point of view. She uses figurative language, analogies, and personal examples to explain her perception of poetry and what poetry truly means to each reader. Throughout each stanza she repeatedly uses different diction to ensure that the audience can fully see what she means when she is describing the different types of poetry. The tone that is created by the author is in a way almost, sarcastic. It seems as though she is never being completely sincere with her use of tone. When she suggests that a poem is bad or good she always compliments the balance of realism and imagination. Marianne consistently reminds the reader that to make a difference and to have ‘good poetry’, then equilibrium needs to be reached between the real and nonexistent worlds.

Marianne states, “imaginary gardens with real toads in them” (Moore 30) she talks about the situation of having a real species live inside a fictional garden. She used this example to prove how if you have a piece of information that is made up and incorporate it with a genuine scenario it creates a balance of interest in the poem. She not only does this, but also supplies imagery about when good poetry is first discovered. She states that when an authentic poem is recognized a person has these reactions; “hands that can grasp, eyes that can dilate, hair that can rise” (Moore 6-7) and poetry is seen as useful. These reactions are seen when the balance is created and the tone of the author is all throughout the poem. In Marianne’s case she uses all types of figurative language to support the tone she aims to