Essay Questions

What is the leviathan mentioned in the poem "The aches of marriage’’ and why it is used in the poem?

The term leviathan makes reference to the Biblical monster that swallowed the prophet Iona. God punished Iona by sending a sea monster to devour him because he did not do what he was told. However, while Iona was in the belly of the monster he learned a valuable lesson and thus he was happier when he was released. The narrator claims marriage is a leviathan as well, trapping two people in its belly. While the people are trapped there, they can also find happiness in the belly of the monster. Thus, because this monster enriches a person’s life and because it eventually brings that person happiness, marriage is described as being a leviathan.

What could symbolize the fact that the narrator put the snake around her neck in the poem "To the snake’’?

Snakes that do not have poisonous fangs kill their pray by strangling them or crushing them with their power. For animals and humans alike, the neck is the most vulnerable point. By putting the snake around her neck, the narrator entrusted her life to the snake. It also transmits the idea that while others saw the snake as being dangerous, the narrator did not and trusted it completely.

How does the narrator present marriage?

In the poems written by the author marriage is not presented in a positive manner. Marriage is presented as something painful one must endure for an unlimited period of time. The narrator points haw many of those who get married become unhappy and also unwilling to leave their own prison. The narrator propose another form of marriage, that is for two people to just start living together if they want to without having any legal involvement. This is for the narrator the only form of marriage that could produce happiness.