Poetry Summary
Marianne Moore

Poetry Summary

The poem "Poetry" was first published in a literary journal in 1919. Later, it was included in three of Moore's books: Observations, Collected Poems, and Complete Poems. The poem varies in length with each publication, changing from thirteen lines to almost forty lines, and then to three lines, respectively. In "Poetry," the speaker opens the poem by claiming that she "dislikes . . . all this fiddle"— meaning poetry. In a tone that is both authoritative and...

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