In "The Ache of Marriage," Denise Levertov attempts to explain the pain this marriage experiences. It is a pain that affects both emotional and physical states of being. Levertov describes the pain as if someone were reading her thoughts. Through Levertov's use of non-conventional form, the theme of the pain of marriage and overcoming that pain jumps from the page.

The author divides the poem into two parts. On one hand, Levertov shows the difficulty in making a marriage last. She depicts how a marriage can ache and hurt. On the other hand, Levertov says that a blissful marriage as the ultimate goal. All the trial and tribulations a marriage endures prove to be worth it the sacrifices. Through her words, the dichotomy of marriage is personified as an actual human entity. It is a being, which aches in the "thigh and tongue" (2). Levertov's clever use of the literary technique of personification shows how marriage is hard but it can be a beautiful institution if sufficient time and energy are spent to correct what has b

Imagery is another literary device Levertov uses to illustrate the difficulty in maintaining a sacred institution. Levertov makes an allusion to Noah's ark by saying, "two by two in the ark of" (12). Noah's ark symbolizes to some survival and faith in one's creator. This image creates thoughts of survival of the marriage and faith in one another. This biblical image illustrates how strong the bond of marriage is for Levertov compares it to Noah's ark, which is the biblical explanation for the continuation of man. Another image Levertov conjures up is evident in lines 10-11. She says, "It is leviathan and we/ in its belly/ looking for joy, some joy/ not to be known outside it" (10-11). The comparison of marriage to a leviathan serves as a vivid image. Because the pain is comparable to a leviathan, which is an enormous, monstrous creature, at times it may seem like there is no way to conquer this hurdle. Levertov says that pain is a monster, within which the search for joy continues. There is no understanding of happiness because the marriage centers on pain.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Denise Levertov, Ache Marriage, pain marriage, noah's ark, ache marriage, marriage ache, thigh tongue, marriage experiences, pain affects, hand levertov,
Approximate Word count = 722
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)