“Wedding-Ring” by Denise Levertov

Author Denise Levertov was born in London in 1923 and was educated at home by her mother.  Her formal education ended at the age of 12.   She married Mitchell Goodman, who had been studying in Europe on the G.I. Bill, and they had one son.  She came to the United States in 1948.  Both Denise Levertov and her husband were political and anti-war activists.  She divorced in 1974.   Ms. Levertov died of lymphoma in 1997.

 

My wedding-ring lies in a basket

as if at the bottom of a well.

Nothing will come to fish it back up

and onto my finger again.

                    It lies

among keys to abandoned houses,

nails waiting to be needed and hammered

into some wall,

telephone numbers with no names attached,

idle paperclips.

          It can't be given away

for fear of bringing ill-luck.

          It can't be sold

for the marriage was good in its own

time, though that time is gone.

          Could some artificer

beat into it bright stones, transform it

into a dazzling circlet no one could take

for solemn betrothal or to make promises

living will not let them keep? Change it

into a simple gift I could give in friendship?

        The wedding ring in this reflective poem by Denise Levertov symbolizes lost dreams and what used to be (rather than the traditional symbolization associated with a wedding ring of love, commitment, and a promising future/wonderful dreams).  The narrator is a woman whose marriage has disintegrated.   Her ring is at the bottom of a basket, along with other obsolete items, such as keys to abandoned houses, telephone numbers without names, random paperclips and unused nails.    It no longer symbolizes love and togetherness to her as that part of her life is no longer existent, and she sees no hope of her marriage being repaired in the future.   The tone of this poem is sad and suggests disillusionment concerning the end of a relationship.  The words leave the reader feeling that the author did not want the marriage to end.  Metaphor is used in this poem:  “My wedding- ring lies in a basket as if at the bottom of a well…”   This indicates that the wedding ring is no longer held in the same regard as it used to be; that the wedding ring no longer holds the same symbolism for the speaker.   Sadly, it no longer holds the promise of love and commitment.   The “bottom” of a well suggests the depth, darkness and loneliness one feels when they reach the “bottom” or a particularly low point in their life. 

            As mentioned above, the author of the poem (Denise Levertov) divorced in 1974.  This poem was written in 1978 after the failure of her marriage and, therefore, depicts the feelings she was experiencing with the demise of her marriage.   The words of the poem  give the reader the sense that there are still ill feelings remaining, such as when she writes of her wedding ring, “It can’t be given away for fear of bringing ill-luck.  It can’t be sold for the marriage was good in its own time, though that time is gone.”  The token wedding ring no longer symbolizes faith and hope and commitment like in the past.  It almost seems to represent something superstitious.   The narrator wonders if perhaps her wedding ring could be transformed into a piece of jewelry not representative of solemn betrothal or of broken promises and dreams.   

            The use of cacophony and euphony forces the reader to stop at certain points in the poem for emphasis.  It doesn’t have a rhyming pattern and appears to be more in a paragraph form.  People can relate to this poem and empathize with the author over the end of her relationship and the resultant changes in her life.