Both Moore and Dorf take on the subject of sexuality in a pretty serious manner. Both make their statements about their composer of choice’s sexuality and prove their point with evidence. Personally, I think Moore makes a more convincing argument in his article “Camp in Francis Poulenc’s Early Ballets.” He provides a wide variety of sources and further analyzes them to make his point, easily drawing in the reading with each little bit. Dorf may also have interesting sources, but lacks the deeper analysis (and translation) of quotations and reuses several resources continuously, narrowing the lens and disengaging the audience.
Dorf took the harder route in proving his point because of his subjects, Satie and Princess de Polignac. Throughout his argument Dorf states several times that both Satie and Princess de Polignac were extremely private people and took care to take certain things out of their biographies, or seldomly if ever engaged in conversation about their sexuality. By just mentioning that information once or twice, Dorf’s argument becomes speculative and questionable leaving the reader asking more questions than receiving answers.
Moore on the other hand, takes a subject where there are lots of sources, primary and secondary and accessible quotes that aid in proving his point. In the very first sentence he uses a quote directly from his subject, Poulenc. This quote, directly pertaining to his argument draws in the reader immediately and gives Moore the credibility later on in his article when he is also guessing or making assumption about certain aspects of Poulenc’s sexuality, as Dorf does in his article about Satie.
By taking those key pieces of evidence and analyzing them one step further than Dorf, Moore creates a convincing argument of Poulenc’s music and sexuality. This approach takes away a lot of questioning and guesswork that Dorf’s article may leave the reader with. After reading both those articles myself, I would want to look further into Satie’s music and other resources just because Dorf did not leave me with as much security as Moore did.