Moore and Modern America

Moore’s presence in American literature has subsided a bit in the larger sense today, as there have not been many books published on him recently. However, he is still often at the center of scholarly research on Ireland, including Ireland’s music, revolution, etc. Just last year in 2017, Timothy M. Love published, “Gender and the Nationalistic Ballad: Thomas Davis, Thomas Moore, and Their Songs” in the University of Minnesota’s multidisciplinary Irish Studies journal, New Hibernia Review.

This modern-day essay allows us to look back on Moore’s work with the knowledge we have today from accounts like the books of this exhibition that portray how Moore’s work has been viewed throughout history. Timothy Love analyzes the different styles and personalities of two nationalistic ballad composers, Thomas Davis and Thomas Moore. He focuses specifically on the way each artist portrayed the nation of Ireland, explaining that Moore’s image of Ireland possessed more feminine qualities, while Davis’s image of Ireland was one of resilience and masculinity. He provides examples of how Davis and other nationalists critiqued Moore’s ballads for being “too delicate and subtle” at a time when Ireland was seeking to proudly declare itself independent from England. This essay is useful as it offers insight into the role that gender plays in creating nationhood, and also demonstrates how his contemporaries and later generations received Moore’s works.

Nine years earlier in this same New Hibernia journal, J.C.M. Nolan published an article, “In Search of an Ireland in the Orient: Tom Moore’s Lalla Rookh.” While this article is more focused on one specific text than Love’s work is, Nolan explores the relationship between Moore and Lord Byron throughout his essay. He argues that Thomas Moore looked to the Orient nations for inspiration as he sought out to represent the Irish national story. He specifically builds his argument on Moore’s Lalla Rookh, a poem long enough to be a book, and on Moore’s relationship to Lord Byron, who also wrote an Oriental poem. This relationship between Moore and Byron is especially interesting as Byron, an Englishman, seems to have been assisting Moore in his fight to establish Irish national identity. According to Nolan, Byron faced backlash from his decision to support Moore’s efforts and later on, this relationship grew troubled as Moore feared Byron was going to overstep his boundaries and use Moore’s ideas for his own creative work. Nolan’s portrayal of the relationship between Moore and Byron is important for understanding the historical significance of Moore’s work. 

Thomas Moore has held a place in literature published in America since the 19th century. Because of his fundamental role in establishing Irish identity, and the large number of Irish-Americans living in the USA today, Moore will most likely remain present in American publications for years to come. 

Bibliography

Love, Timothy M."Gender and the Nationalistic Ballad: Thomas Davis, Thomas Moore, and Their Songs." New Hibernia Review, vol. 21 no. 1, 2017, pp. 68-85. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/nhr.2017.0005

Nolan, J.C.M."In Search of an Ireland in the Orient: Tom Moore's Lalla Rookh." New Hibernia Review, vol. 12 no. 3, 2008, pp. 80-98. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/nhr.0.0020