Summary Of Wedding Ring By Denise Levertov

While plunging into the depths of poetry often we must search for symbols while swimming through the vast layers created by the waves of words in an attempt to avoid drowning in the lines. Once we identify a symbol, interpret its essence, and apply our personal interpretation to the poem, we can hear the speaker as if we are finally breaching the surface no longer gasping for understanding. Within “Wedding-Ring,” by Denise Levertov, the symbolism associated with the actual wedding-ring in the poem is utilized to paint an image of a love that once existed but no longer thrives. This symbol, the wedding-ring, first derives the essence of heartache from the line, “as if at the bottom of a well.” One can easily associate the depths of a well as being cold and dark. The loneliness, that arises from a love that once was, begins to creep into the essence of the wedding-ring when
This is evidenced in the lines, “But when my old woman died her soul went into that vacuum cleaner.” As we wander amongst the words of the poem we begin to feel the anguish the speaker feels in regards to losing his wife. “The house is so quiet now”, opens our emotions to emptiness and loneliness. Unable to operate the vacuum cleaner, we grasp a sense of the memories that are associated with its use. These memories conjure up a feeling of sadness due to the reminder of how the lost wife “used to crawl, in the corner and under the stair” keeping the now filthy house clean. Our emotions are heightened as we attempt to relate to the speaker, bringing forth an understanding of the despair felt when losing someone close to us and having objects around that capture how the essence of something as simple as a vacuum cleaner can transform into much