Marriage By Marianne Moore Analysis

Buvanasvari A/P Palakrisnan

AEK140003

ACEA 1116 Elements of English Literature

Dr. Nicholas Pagan

Paper #3

From “Marriage”

By Marianne Moore

This institution, perhaps one should say enterprise out of respect for which one says one need not change one’s mind about a thing one has believed in, requiring public promises of one’s intention to fulfill a private obligation:

I wonder what Adam and Eve think of it by this time, this firegilt steel alive with goldenness; how bright it shows—

“of circular traditions and impostures, committing many spoils,” requiring all one’s criminal ingenuity to avoid!

“Marriage” is a political institution and /or a cultural construct is a poem with seventeen lines long. Moore analyze institution in her poem to

She critiques it by saying marriage tends to place men in power over women where they denigrate women’s capabilities. Moore quickly introduces two opposed beings, Adam and Eve, who dominates the poem and served as vehicle for her ironic commentary on the battle of sexes. Images in this poem are found in the line “this firegilt steel alive with goldenness; how bright it shows--” where “this firegiltt steel” symbolize the wedding ring that relates to a cultural practice. Rhetorical devices such as alliteration and apostrophe are used in the poem. There is a repetition of the same sound beginning several words in sequence can be seen in the line “one says one need not change one’s mind”. The word “one” is repeated several times in the line. Whereas apostrophe can be seen in the line” I wonder what Adam and Eve think of it by this time” as Moore introduced us to figures like Adam and Eve. Moore concludes to us that it is naive and a mistaken belief in the line “requiring public promises of one’s intention to fulfill a private obligation”. Moore shows that there is overall disappointment with the marital practice and it is universally associated with the fear of loss in a marriage. The words “circular traditions” in the line “of circular

The theme of religious is seen in both poems. The line “Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of god” implies that the religion ask us to have mutual respect on each other and stay together in the memory of creator of life. In Moore’s poem, the symbol of religion can be seen in the line “this firegilt steel alive with goldenness” where in the Christianity, rings become the symbol of a marriage in church and this has turn into a cultural practice. Other than that, there is also the use of gender in both poems. Gibran in his poem resembles man and woman in the line “And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow” and also indicate as a metaphor in the poem. Whereas Moore introduced us to the gender in the line “I wonder what Adam and Eve think of it by this time”. “Adam” and “Eve” plays the role as a man and woman in the poem. In Gibran poem, the line “Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls” indicates that the communication between two souls are not bounded with anything and is free to know each other. Whereas in Moore’s poem she tells us that a person would try all kind of things to avoid their marriage as they find that love is an emotional experience and this can be seen in the line “requiring all one’s criminal ingenuity to avoid!”. In the line