What element of modernist poetry is evident in this excerpt from the poem, "Poetry" by Marianne Moore? Hands that can grasp, ey
es that can dilate, hair that can rise if it must, these things are important not because a high sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because they are useful.
One of the main characteristics of modernist poetry is that it experimented with meter.
Unlike Neoclassicists and Romantics who followed traditional patterns, especially Iambic Pentameter, modernist poets challenged the established rules and played with the division of lines and their meter.
In this excerpt of "Poetry," we can see that Marianne Moore took liberties when it comes to the meter of the poem: it does not follow any established meter, and the lines do not have the same lenght.
I believe because it falls across multiple lines without obvious breaks. The line breaks are important because the first word of each line gets emphasis.
Better understand the physical geography around him•Get out of the town in order to think more clearly•Understand the condition of non-American laborers