"In Defiance of Their Opinion": Meta-Criticism, Rhetoric, and Resistance in Marianne Moore's Observations.

The author examines the meta-criticism approach evident in the poetry collection "Observations" by American poet and critic Marianne Moore. Topics include comments on Moore's tendency to borrow quotations from unexpected sources such as from the diaries of Russian author Leo Tolstoy, a definition of resistance in "Observations," the manifestation of Moore's moral views on human nature, judgment and criticism in her work, and the implication of her engagement with criticism in the collection.