An Analysis Of John Ciardi's Most Like An Arch This Marriage

John Ciardi’s “Most Like an Arch This Marriage” is about how a marriage needs support just like an arch. The poem tells of how two people come together in a marriage and support each other in hard times, just like how two pillars come together to hold up an arch. The poem also shows how the author feels about support in a marriage. Lastly, the author uses descriptive images to justify how the two are alike in multiple ways.

The poem starts by defining what an arch is, and how it’s solid and doesn’t move. Describing how it looks and how it’s supposed to hold together for a significant amount of time. The author writes “Inside half-heaven unfolds” (line 4). By stating this the readers feel like marriage is almost perfect, that the arch is perfection.

The author describes and shows the image of two people and pillars that are weak, leaning on each other as they become strong due to the reliance upon one another. “Two weaknesses that lean into strength. Two fallings become firm” is written by the author to show how two people come together in a marriage and become dependent and strong off of each other (5-6). He uses weakness and strength in his poem to display how you can put weaknesses together and get strength. Then he said “fact that teaches fact to mean.” which conveys the reader to think that he means that each person in a marriage teaches the other something of importance (8). That like pillars, a marriage holds two things together and teaches them to stand

He uses words like “upright” or unset” to describe how it feels to be on your own without strength from someone else. He then goes on to say “it is by falling in and in we make the all-bearing point, for one another’s sake” which means that in marriage people dive right in and lean on each other (14-15). In a marriage they both go into it to help and support the other. Lastly, he says “in faultless failing, raised by our own weight” (16). This is supposed to give us the image of each person in a marriage supporting each other with their own weight and if they do then they can’t fail. That two people that support each other can’t fail because they have each other’s back and strength. An arch describes a marriage because in order for a marriage to work the two people need to support and rely on each other to have a strong and healthy