POETRY'S LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS: TOWARDS A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE ANIMAL OTHER.

This paper looks at the connection between the self-reflexive poetry characteristic of the modernist period and the emergence of a new respect for animal alterity. In the poetry of Marianne Moore and Francis Ponge specifically, we witness a literary hunt whereby the poets pursue but ultimately fail to capture the representation of real animal experiences. The outcome, which suggests both humans' lack of dominance over other animals and the existence of an alternative, unspoken discourse of animals, points to a modern shift in sensibility towards a new understanding of animals' essential otherness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]