Answer to Question #101544 in English for Sam

Question

What do you think Marianne Moore meant by these lines in her poem? (slashes to show line breaks are intentionally omitted): "Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers in it after all, a place for the genuine."

Answer 1

Marianne Moore uses allusions extensively in her poetry. In my opinion, she is giving a description of poetry which is considered to be both raw and genuine material. Though it frustrates and confuses the readers of the poem, it shows a modern version of modern poetry where justification has resulted to unintelligibility. The lines in question emphasize the events that come before the end of the poem.