Pastoralism - “In the Village”
The narrator explains, “I let Nelly through the set of bars to the pasture where the brook is, to get the mint. We both take drinks and I pick a big bunch of mint, eating a little, scratchy and powerful. Nelly looks over her shoulder and comes back to try it, thinking, as cows do, it might be something especially for her…For a while I entertain the idea of not going home today at all, of staying safely here in the pasture all day, playing in the brook and climbing on the squishy, moss-covered hummocks in the swampy part." The village offers a pastoral terrain that permits the rearing of cattle. The mint bids the imagery of available natural herbs in the pastoral. Moss and swamps indicate that the village is sparsely populated and remote; otherwise, people would clear them up and set up residences.
Feminism - “Efforts of Affection
Bishop writes, “Do they (critics) know that Marianne Moore was a feminist in her day? Or that she paraded with the suffragettes, led by Inez Milholland on her white horse, down Fifth Avenue? Once, Marianne told me, she “climbed a lamppost” in a demonstration for votes for women…she was humorously angry, but nevertheless angry, when her publisher twice postponed her book in order to bring out two young male poets, both now almost unheard of.” Bishop highlights Moore's engagements which affirm that she was a feminist who championed women's rights. Her collaboration with suffragettes enabled her to campaign for voting rights which was a significant rights issue back in the day. Moreover, her demonstration which entails going to the top of a lamppost depicts an extraordinary feminist spirit; she would have been discouraged from climbing it by virtue of her gender. Her anger towards the publisher suggests that she did not feel inferior to the male poets which is another indicator of her feminist spirit. Accordingly, the critics who are undermining Moore's poetry are not acquainted with her immense contribution to feminism.
Writing - “Efforts of Affection”
Bishop observes, “If she (Moore) was willing to put in so much hard work on a review running to two or two-and-a-half pages, one can imagine the work that went into a poem such as “The Jerboa,” or “He ‘Digesteth Harde Yron’ ” (about the ostrich), with their elaborate rhyme schemes and syllable counting meters. When not at the desk, she used a clipboard with the poem under construction on it, carrying it about the apartment, “even when I’m dusting or washing the dishes, Elizabeth.” Based on Bishop's observation Moore was a diligent writer who engaged in writing both reviews and poetry. She invested her time and mental energy in her writing career. Compliance with rhyme and meter rules indicates that she was a greatly knowledgeable writer with a mastery of writing rules. Consequently, her works are outstanding, professional and inspirational.
