What Are Years by Marianne Moore Poem Analysis

Everything has a concrete definition. Verbs, nouns, adjectives, and more each have a series of words that are considered to define them. While these definitions may show a literal description of a word, do they truly tell the meaning of a word? Words were not created to stand alone with their definitions, but rather to be surrounded by other words that give the word a definition and meaning. Words are meant to be interpreted, shaped, into a deeper understanding of a context, proving that each and every word used in anything is meaningful. In the poem “What are years” by Marianne Moore, she asks the meaning of a specific word, mortality, as she searches for what it truly means to be mortal. Moore argues through her lines that mortality is the human experience, and more than its sole definition.

In the beginning of the poem, Moore questions mortality by describing human nature and   conveying how one's ideals do not only give meaning to one's mortality, but they also inspire others to believe in their own ideals. Moore starts her poem by writing, “All are / naked, none is safe.”(2-3).  Here, Moore recognizes human nature and argues that no matter how many material possessions one may have, everyone’s the same on the inside and humans as a species cannot change that. Moore also describes that everyone dies and no matter how rich or powerful one may be, no amount of money can buy an escape from mortality. Moore shows here that although the concrete definition of mortality is the state of being subject to death, its significant meaning is how much one truly values being alive, thus when one considers their living an ideal. Moore furthers her message on ideals in the following lines, explaining, “And whence / is courage,” “that / in misfortune, even death, / encourages others,”(3-4, 6-8). This excerpt illustrates the sheer importance of ideals, saying that any strong values shown by one, even during tragedy, will inspire others to stick to their ideals as well. Moore conveys this because it is typical human nature to turn on one's ideals when facing adversity, but when one preserves their ideals, it is a true testament to their character to fight the urge to give up. Moore expresses that this reaction to adversity gives quality to one’s mortality. She shows that when one sticks to their beliefs, they will bring others up with them to collectively reach a higher level of living, and a higher level of mortality. Additionally, Moore contrasts the definition of mortality with her poem as she writes, “that / in misfortune, even death, / encourages others,”(6-8). She suggests that rather than having mortality be defined by the ability to die, it is the impact and ideals that one makes while being alive that gives mortality its meaning. These messages told by Moore transition into further lines of the poem where she deepens her analysis of the true meaning of mortality and the human experience.

Moore proceeds her thoughts on mortality throughout the middle portion of the poem, where she suggests that mortality is not a given, but rather a quality to be earned along the path of what people call the human experience. She expresses this idea by stating, “He / sees deep and is glad, who / accedes to mortality,”(10-12). Moore purposely capitalizes the word “He” in the line, seemingly suggesting importance to a person or divinity, but instead Moore implies that “He” is the human race. Moore implies this because humans are not born with the right of mortality, but when one achieves the feat of mortality, they begin to broaden their scope of life to reach a purpose larger than theirs. She argues that when a human reaches mortality through the human experience, they start to understand life deeper to truly understand and enjoy their mortality. This shows yet another fold of the meaning that Moore gives the reader about mortality, conveying yet again that the definition of the word doesn’t describe the true implications that it could have. Moore later advances this idea and closes her poem as she navigates the reader through her final ideas of the meaning of mortality.

At the end of the poem, Moore finalizes her thoughts on the meaning of mortality as she proposes that when one truly accepts their humanity and everything it has to offer, it strengthens both them and their mortality to be the best it can be. Moore communicates this by writing, “So he who strongly feels, / behaves,” (19-20). Here, Moore illustrates human nature by suggesting that when one feels an emotion strongly, they will act with that emotion through everything, as if their humanity, their mortality, has that emotion. Moore claims through these lines that when one  genuinely understands their strengths and their flaws, they will be able to live their life more fully, and thus their mortality will ascend to its ultimate value.