Dualism and Christian Hope in Marianne Moore’s “The Fish”

This article provides a close reading of Marianne Moore’s “The Fish,” asserting that it’s imagery should be understood allegorically to represent the split between the physical and the spiritual, or temporal and eternal. In particular, the image of the cliff represents the dualistic nature of humani...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRenascence Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 29 - 37
Main Author Boone, N. S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Milwaukee Marquette University Press 01.01.2024
Renascence
Subjects
Bible
Christian theology
Christianity
Criticism and interpretation
Dualism
Dualism (Philosophy)
Exegesis & hermeneutics
Hope
Human body
Moore, Marianne
Poetry
Poets
Portrayals
Religion
Religious aspects
Spirituality
United States
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Summary:This article provides a close reading of Marianne Moore’s “The Fish,” asserting that it’s imagery should be understood allegorically to represent the split between the physical and the spiritual, or temporal and eternal. In particular, the image of the cliff represents the dualistic nature of humanity—one side physical (and continually eaten away by the encroaching sea), and the other side spiritual. Many readers of Moore have not been able to explain how the cliff can be seen at once to be defeated by the sea on one side, but yet triumph over it on the other. An Christian-allegorical reading, based in Moore’s life-long Protestant faith and her in-depth Bible studies, provides an explanation that makes sense of the imagery.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0034-4346
2329-8626
DOI:10.5840/renascence20247612