Marianne Moore's Use of Appropriation as Philosophical

At Kenyon Review, Kristina Marie Darling makes a case for seeing Marianne Moore as a philosopher. Thinking through Moore's polyvocality, Darling notes that "many poets writing during this time period questioned the assumption that the lyric is synonymous with a single spoken voice," but that to read Moore as challenging only this type of lyricism is to "risk minimizing some of the most innovative aspects of her work—namely, her use of found text, appropriation, and material from other disciplines to make a contribution to the philosophical discourses of the time period she inhabited." More:

...I believe that many of Moore’s polyphonic texts exist in dialogue with the writings of William James, particularly his writings in the field of psychology. By weaving found text with her own words, and refusing to distinguish between her voice and the voices of culture, Moore echoes many of James’ beliefs about the sociality of the self, particularly his belief that the mind is made possible only by the cultural symbols, myths, and shared experiences that populate it. Moore’s use of collage, as well as the polyphonic structure of her poems, reflect an astute understanding of James’ work, but also an interest in refining and modifying his claims. Unlike James, who believed in an “ideal self,” which is distinguished from one’s “social self,” Moore suggests that one’s being in society represents one’s only and truest self. Moore ultimately questions the boundaries that James has established between self and world, using appropriation and collage do so. Moore’s technical choices, then, engage a particular philosophical question that may not be at the fore of other writers’ work, even those working with seemingly similar polyphonic texts...

Read the full essay at the Kenyon Review blog.