What Is The Mood Of The Poem The Fish By Marianne Moore

Although the relationship between nature and humankind contains unavoidable paradoxes, Marianne Moore conveys their complex bond through her natural imagery and unique structure. Moore questions the balance between the natural universe and humanity’s attempt to control it in her poem “The Fish.”
Prominently, Moore’s poem features the essence of water, illustrating the fluctuating interrelationship between society and the natural world. Her poem, a collection of eight stanzas, ebbs and flows, much like that of a wave. Christian Reed notes that Moore’s “inherent rhythm” creates the “conjunction between the poem’s formal structure and the substance of its descriptions” (On “The Fish”). As her stanzas syllabically increase and decrease amongst

Furthermore, Moore’s rhyme scheme (a a b b c) represents an underlying tension, oftentimes with slant rhymes, and demonstrates the imperfect relationship between nature and humans. At the end of each stanza, there is no paired rhyme, implying flaws within this relationship due to the lack of connection in Moore’s words. On the description of the cliff face, there are “green / lilies, and submarine / toadstools, [sliding] each on the other” (23-25). “Other” does not coordinate with the presented rhyme scheme (25). This broken rhyme pattern, as Elizabeth Phillips argues, “points up the subtle discordant tones” (Poetry for Students 187). Moore’s imperfect rhymes demonstrate the wavering relationship between the ocean and land. They do not live in utter harmony; nevertheless, their relationship lives. Moreover, Moore’s “The Fish” shifts focus between differing parts of nature, thus suggesting the overall significance of her most prominent focus, the water, by its connection to its surrounding environment. Initially, the speaker glimpses a school of fish swimming through the sea. She notices how they “wade” through the water, thus impacting

Throughout her poem, according to Darlene Williams Erickson, Moore represents “the paradox of destruction and endurance” (qtd. in Illusion is More Precise). She illustrates this contradiction through the fish, sea, and cliff persevering yet thriving in spite of abuse. Notably, as the ocean crashes its “wedge / of iron” upon the cliff, the rock deteriorates (18-19). Here, Moore ironically depicts water as made of sharp metal, though the fluidity of waves prevents its ability to cut like a knife. However, this illustration demonstrates the underlying power of the ocean. In the face of adversity, nature continues to fight the growth of industrialization, the expansion of humanity. Although the fight against mankind is difficult, nature does not surrender. At the same time, the fish— swimming through the “black jade”— also decay (2). Typically, the sea is not described as dark as “jade.” Jade is a rock that is known to symbolize power, self-control, and protection. In fact, according to Stephanie Smith, “the ancient Chinese believed that breathing air through jade would lead to a long life” (“What is the Meaning of Black Jade?”). Again, Moore creates a paradox. She implies the waves’ healthful benefits, yet provides the fish with a treacherous home. Rocks are not transparent, thus the water does not make sight simple. Also, the “black” color of the waves