Denis Levertov: Life and Works Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 969 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 0

Page 1 of 3



Caedmon," too, contains some of this sense of contradictory juxtaposition, especially in the line towards the end of the poem where the speaker reflects that she "was at home and lonely, / both in good measure" (23-4). In the poem, the speaker (presumably a child, as she learned early to do what she describes doing) quietly leaves a dance for which she feels inadequate and goes to sit amongst the cows and other livestock in the barn, who "munched or stirred or were still" (22). She stays here peacefully until an angel of fire awakes her and draws her back into the dance. It is unclear exactly what this angel is supposed to represent, or even if it is to be taken symbolically. What is clear, however, is the equal measures of the speaker's -- and Levertov's -- passion and placidity. Though not at home in the dance at first, the speaker eventually leaves the calm and quiet of the barn to return there, and there seems to be a kinship between herself and the fire, and/or the angels, when she realizes that "nothing was burning, / nothing but I, as that hand of fire / touched my lips" (29-31).Again, the contradiction of the two extremes in this poem both find a home within or around the speaker's body.

One of the titles of Levertov's early collections is the Jacob's Ladder, and the title poem from that work contains more directly religious imagery than the other two poems discussed here. The title itself refers to the ladder to heaven which Jacob sees in a dream, that has angels both ascending and descending.

Stuck Writing Your "Denis Levertov: Life and Works" Essay?

View All Our Example Denis Levertov: Life and Works Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

For Levertov, however, the stairway is not "a thing of gleaming strand," but rather is of stone, and while angels can use their wings to help them climb, "a man climbing / must scrape his knees" (2; 16-7). She has taken what is generally considered a symbol of protection and God's care for humanity and made it seem a daunting task that must be carried out. The last line of the poem, "The poem ascends," could refer either to the angels that brush past the climber, or to the climber themselves, or perhaps it is an allusion to the ascension of prayers, here turned into a poem (20). Regardless, it is clear that this knee-scraping and therefore arduous and even humiliating climb is necessary for poetic achievement.

The juxtapositions and contradictions that Levertov saw in life are reflected clearly in her poems. It is clear that she considers her gift for writing both a blessing and a burden, much as she considers the concept of God and maybe even of sin. Then again, even putting this binary framework on her….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Denis Levertov Life And Works" (2009, February 10) Retrieved May 22, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/denis-levertov-life-works-24925

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Denis Levertov Life And Works" 10 February 2009. Web.22 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/denis-levertov-life-works-24925>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Denis Levertov Life And Works", 10 February 2009, Accessed.22 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/denis-levertov-life-works-24925
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example