John Ciardi's Most Like An Arch This Marriage

In the poem “Most Like an Arch This Marriage”, John Ciardi states that to have a strong marriage or a good love, two people must learn to be like the two sides of an arch and lean into each other for strength. The entire poem uses the metaphor that an arch and a good loving marriage are relatively the same thing. He uses imagery and symbolism throughout the entire poem to share all their similarities. Two objects can come together and lean into one another to become a supportive strong arch; the same way two spouses come together for marriage to support one another. The poet starts off by saying, “Most like an arch—an entrance which upholds and shores the stone-crush up the air like lace” (Line1-2). In those lines, Ciardi is saying that life has many daily struggles; however, two people in a marriage should stand strong and firm to overcome the those challenges. Each partner can fill the cracks in
“Not quite that? Not much less. World as it is, what’s strong and separate falter” (Line 9-10). This means that one may be a strong, but being alone make them weak. “All I do, at piling stone on stone apart from you is roofless around nothing. Till we kiss” (Line 11-12). The poet is saying that when he is away from his significant other it’s like there is a wall being built between them. However, when he kisses her he feels whole again. In the final stanza, the author begins to wrap it up and give the readers a clear explanation. He explains that even though couples have many flaws, they still stick together through thick and thin. “I am no more than upright and unset. It is by falling in and in we make the all-bearing point, for one another’s sake, in faultless failing, raised by our own weight.” (Lines 13-16). He’s bringing the best out of a bad situation. Everyone has their faults at times, but the love and strength in a marriage allows them to rise above, and overcome any obstacles together as a