Question

Here is an excerpt from Marianne Moore's "Poetry" in which Moore expresses her dislike for poorly written poems. What does Moore mean when she says "imaginary gardens with real toads in them" in this excerpt? …same thing may be said for all of us—that we do not admire what we cannot understand. The bat, holding on upside down or in quest of something to eat, elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll … all these phenomena are important. One must make a distinction however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not poetry, nor till the autocrats among us can be “literalists of the imagination”—above insolence and triviality and can present for inspection, imaginary gardens with real toads in them, shall we have it. In the meantime, if you demand on the one hand, in defiance of their opinion— the raw material of poetry in all its rawness, and that which is on the other hand, genuine, then you are interested in poetry. A. Poets use abstract concepts because such ideas can be easily understood and make the poem universal. B. Poets use abstract concepts, so it is hard to determine the meaning of a poem. C. Poetry is inconsequential because it combines ideas illogically, such as imaginary gardens with real-life objects placed in them. D. Poets should write at least one poem that includes a pastoral or romantic scene. E. Poets must be able to inject real emotion into abstract concepts.

Answer 1

Answer:"E. ) Poets must be able to inject real emotion into abstract concepts".

Answer 2

What Marianne Moore meant with the phrase "imaginary gardens with real toads in them" in Poetry is that "E. Poets must be able to inject real emotion into abstract concepts".

She uses this phrase to contrast imagination with reality. She previously says poets must be able to be "literalists of the imagination" and she provides the best example of being one by using an imaginary scenario (the garden) and a real object (the toads). In sum, it can be said that according to Marianne, a poet must be able to genuinely convey a feeling of reality or an emotion, through imaginary or abstract scenarios.

On the other hand, answers A, B, C and D are contradictory to Moore's opinion on how real poets should write.