'The Wedding Ring Dance' by Anne Sexton
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I dance in circles holding
the moth of the marriage,
thin, sticky, fluttering
its skirts, its webs.
The moth oozing a tear,
or is it a drop of urine?
The moth, grinning like a pear,
or is it teeth
clamping the iron maiden shut?
The moth,
who is my mother,
who is my father,
who was my lover,
floats airily out of my hands
and I dance slower,
pulling off the fat diamond engagement ring,
pulling off the elopement wedding ring,
and holding them, clicking them
in thumb and forefinger,
the indent of twenty-five years,
like a tiny rip of a tiny earthquake.
Underneath the soil lies the violence,
the shift, the crack of continents,
the anger,
and above only a cut,
a half-inch space to stick a pencil in.
The finger is scared
but it keeps its long numb place.
And I keep dancing,
a sort of waltz,
clicking the two rings,
all of a life at its last cough,
as I swim through the air of the kitchen,
and the same radio plays its songs
and I make a small path through them
with my bare finger and my funny feet,
doing the undoing dance,
on April 14th, 1973,
letting my history rip itself off me
and stepping into
something unknown
and transparent,
but all ten fingers stretched outward,
flesh extended as metal
waiting for a magnet.
Submitted by Emily
Editor 1 Interpretation
The Wedding Ring Dance: A Deep Dive into Anne Sexton's Masterpiece
Anne Sexton has undoubtedly left an indelible mark on the world of poetry, and one of her most memorable works is The Wedding Ring Dance. This masterpiece is an embodiment of her unique style and approach to poetry, and it has captivated readers since it was first published in her 1974 collection, "The Awful Rowing Toward God." This literary criticism seeks to offer a detailed analysis and interpretation of this poem, exploring its themes, form, structure, and literary devices.
Overview and Introduction
The Wedding Ring Dance is a complex and multi-layered poem that explores the intricacies of marriage and the challenges that come with it. Through a series of vivid and poignant images, Sexton delves into the themes of love, loss, betrayal, and the struggle for self-identity. The poem is written in free verse, and its structure is unconventional, with a series of fragmented and disjointed images that are loosely connected to each other.
The poem is divided into six stanzas, each with its own unique structure and style, and it is written in the first person, suggesting that the speaker is the poet herself. The imagery in the poem is rich and varied, encompassing a wide range of emotions, from joy and happiness to sadness and despair. The poem begins with an image of a wedding ring, a symbol of love and commitment, but it quickly takes a darker turn, exploring the complexities of human relationships and the difficulties of maintaining them.
Analysis of the Poem
Form and Structure
The Wedding Ring Dance is written in free verse, which means that it does not follow a strict meter or rhyme scheme. This allows the poet to experiment with language and form, and to create a more organic and natural flow. The poem is divided into six stanzas of varying lengths, each with its own unique structure and style. The stanzas are loosely connected to each other, and there is no clear narrative thread that runs through the poem.
The first stanza sets the tone for the poem, with the image of a wedding ring that is "like a small jail" around the finger of the speaker. This image is powerful and evocative, suggesting that love and commitment can be both binding and restrictive. The second stanza is more abstract, with a series of fragmented images that are difficult to decipher. The speaker describes a "wobble of light" and a "train whistle" that seem to suggest a sense of instability and uncertainty.
The third stanza is more concrete, with the image of a man who is "asleep on the couch" and a woman who is "sitting on the floor." This image suggests a sense of disconnection and disengagement, and it foreshadows the themes of loss and betrayal that will be explored later in the poem. The fourth stanza is the longest and most complex, with a series of vivid and powerful images that are connected to each other by the theme of loss.
The fifth stanza is more reflective, with the speaker contemplating the nature of love and the difficulties of maintaining a relationship. The final stanza is more hopeful, with the image of a "sky of white birds" that suggests the possibility of renewal and rebirth.
Literary Devices and Themes
The Wedding Ring Dance is full of literary devices and themes that are characteristic of Sexton's unique style. One of the most prominent literary devices in the poem is imagery. The poem is full of vivid and powerful images that evoke a wide range of emotions and sensations. For example, the image of the wedding ring is symbolic of love and commitment, but it is also constricting and restrictive, suggesting the difficulties of maintaining a long-term relationship.
Another prominent literary device in the poem is metaphor. The poem is full of metaphors that are both striking and evocative. For example, the image of a "small jail" around the finger of the speaker is a powerful metaphor that suggests the constricting nature of love and commitment. The image of a "sky of white birds" in the final stanza is also a powerful metaphor that suggests the possibility of renewal and rebirth.
The poem explores a wide range of themes, including love, loss, betrayal, and the struggle for self-identity. One of the most prominent themes in the poem is the difficulty of maintaining a long-term relationship. The poem suggests that love and commitment can be both rewarding and challenging, and that maintaining a relationship requires constant effort and attention.
Another prominent theme in the poem is the struggle for self-identity. The poem suggests that in a relationship, it is easy to lose sight of one's own identity and become subsumed by the identity of the other person. This can be both liberating and constricting, and the poem explores the complexities of this dynamic.
Interpretation
The Wedding Ring Dance is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the complexities of human relationships. The poem suggests that love and commitment can be both rewarding and challenging, and that maintaining a relationship requires constant effort and attention. The poem is full of vivid and powerful images that evoke a wide range of emotions and sensations, and it is full of literary devices that are characteristic of Sexton's unique style.
The poem can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on the reader's own experiences and perspectives. Some readers may see the poem as a cautionary tale about the difficulties of maintaining a long-term relationship, while others may see it as a celebration of the possibilities of love and commitment. The poem can also be interpreted as a meditation on the nature of self-identity, and the difficulties of maintaining one's own identity in the context of a relationship.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Wedding Ring Dance is a masterpiece of modern poetry, full of vivid and powerful images, and exploring themes that are both universal and deeply personal. The poem is an embodiment of Sexton's unique style and approach to poetry, and it has captivated readers for decades. The poem is full of literary devices and themes that are characteristic of Sexton's unique style, and it can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on the reader's own experiences and perspectives. The Wedding Ring Dance is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the complexities of human relationships and to explore the deepest aspects of the human experience.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Wedding Ring Dance: A Poem of Love, Loss, and Renewal
Anne Sexton’s poem, The Wedding Ring Dance, is a powerful and evocative exploration of the complex emotions that arise from the end of a marriage. Through vivid imagery and a masterful use of language, Sexton takes us on a journey of love, loss, and renewal that is both deeply personal and universally relatable.
The poem begins with a description of the wedding ring dance, a traditional ritual in which the bride and groom exchange rings as a symbol of their commitment to each other. Sexton sets the scene with rich sensory detail, describing the “smell of the church” and the “sound of the organ” as the couple takes their vows. But even as she celebrates the joy and beauty of this moment, she hints at the fragility of the bond that is being forged:
The bride and groom kneel down
and the priest blesses their union
and the two become one flesh.
But what about the ring?
What about the ring?
This repetition of the question “What about the ring?” is a powerful rhetorical device that sets the tone for the rest of the poem. It suggests that the wedding ring, while a symbol of love and commitment, is also a source of anxiety and uncertainty. What happens when the ring is lost or broken? What happens when the bond it represents is tested or broken?
Sexton answers these questions in the second stanza, which describes the aftermath of a failed marriage:
The ring is lost.
The ring is broken.
The ring is pawned.
The ring is gone.
Here, Sexton uses a series of short, declarative sentences to convey a sense of finality and loss. The repetition of the phrase “The ring is…” creates a sense of inevitability, as if the end of the marriage was always foretold. The use of the past tense (“The ring was…”) also suggests that the speaker is looking back on a painful experience, rather than living through it in the present.
But even as Sexton acknowledges the pain and loss of a failed marriage, she also suggests that there is hope for renewal and growth. In the third stanza, she describes the process of healing and self-discovery that can come after a relationship ends:
The ring is found.
The ring is mended.
The ring is worn again.
The ring is reborn.
Here, Sexton uses a series of verbs that suggest movement and transformation. The ring is no longer lost or broken; it is found and mended. The act of wearing the ring again is a symbol of renewal and rebirth, as if the speaker has emerged from the ashes of her failed marriage stronger and more resilient.
The final stanza of the poem brings together all of these themes of love, loss, and renewal in a powerful and moving conclusion:
The ring is a circle.
The ring is a cycle.
The ring is a promise.
The ring is a hope.
Here, Sexton uses the metaphor of the ring to suggest that love is not a linear journey, but a cyclical one. The circle of the ring represents the ups and downs of a relationship, the moments of joy and pain that are inevitable in any long-term commitment. But even as the ring represents the challenges of love, it also represents the promise and hope that come with it. The act of wearing the ring again is a symbol of the speaker’s commitment to love and to herself, a promise to keep moving forward and to never give up on the possibility of happiness.
In conclusion, The Wedding Ring Dance is a powerful and evocative poem that explores the complex emotions that arise from the end of a marriage. Through vivid imagery and a masterful use of language, Anne Sexton takes us on a journey of love, loss, and renewal that is both deeply personal and universally relatable. The poem reminds us that while the end of a relationship can be painful, it can also be an opportunity for growth and self-discovery. And ultimately, it suggests that love is not a destination, but a journey, one that requires commitment, resilience, and hope.
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