It was like [Moore] to infuse the natural world with a sense of human willfulness, and like her also to derive moral sustenance from nature. She took as heroes—a word she used with unabashed frequency—not only people but a variety of flora and fauna….
In even her earliest poems it is notoriously difficult to glean the influences on her work. The cool and often prosaic language, the interlaced quotations from obscure books, newspaper ads, scientific reports, the use of titles as first lines, the odd, intricate stanzaic configurations—these and many other traits created a mutant strain in English-language verse not easily tracked to its genetic forebears.
This is a free excerpt of 105 words. There are 374 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Moore, Marianne 1887–1972: Critical Essay by Brad Leithauser Access Pass.
