Renowned English American poet Denise Levertov (1923-1997) published the lyric riddle poem “The Secret” in O Taste and See: New Poems (1966), one of her early collections. Literary criticism often connects Levertov to the avant-garde Black Mountain poets, but Levertov refused to confine herself to a specific movement, and her poetic output demonstrates how she often transcends labels. She’s written lyrical poems like “The Secret,” confessional poems, Christian poems, and several protest poems that voice her indignation over world events like the Vietnam War or the AIDS epidemic. Though Levertov’s books remain in print and her work is readily accessible, many Levertov supporters feel that her importance has been minimized. “The Secret” is one of her popular poems, confronting ideas about mystery, the meaning of life, and the urgency of the moment.

Poet Biography

Levertov was born on October 24, 1923, in England. Her father identified as a Jewish Christian, and in London, he preached at a church for Jews who believe in Jesus. Levertov and her older sister, Olga, were educated by their parents; they studied a cross-section of literature, including the work of the Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. When Levertov was 12, she sent her poems to famous American English poet T. S. Eliot, who, despite his peevish reputation, responded with positive advice. At 17, Levertov published her first poem, earning admirers like poet Kenneth Rexroth. Levertov’s first book, The Double Image (1946), features formal poems that use knotty diction and rhyme.

During World War II, Levertov worked as a nurse. She married writer Mitchell Goodman; in 1948, they moved to the United States, had a son, Nikolai, but divorced in 1975. In the US, Levertov became close with experimental Black Mountain poets like Robert Creeley and Robert Duncan. Influenced by their work, Levertov embraced free verse and the belief that poets should intuit how to shape their poems, producing the collection O Taste and See, which includes “The Secret.”

However, Levertov soon deviated from the Black Mountain poets’ political neutrality, arguing that poets should explicitly address societal issues. To oppose the Vietnam War (1955-1975), she helped start the Writers and Artists Protest, a series of performances and exhibitions opposing the conflict. She also published a collection of antiwar poetry, The Sorrow Dance (1967). Showcasing Levertov’s interest in confessional poetry, the collection also deals with the death of her sister. Aside from writing poetry, Levertov taught, participated in many activist movements, and published translations and essays. In 1973, she published her first essay collection, The Poet in the World, which posits that poets should stay involved with society and culture and not confine themselves to literary matters.

Near the end of her life, Levertov identified as a Catholic Christian. She died in 1997 due to lymphoma.

Poem text

Levertov, Denise. “The Secret.” 1964. Poetry Foundation.

Summary

Two girls find life’s secret in a line from an unnamed poem. The unnamed speaker wrote the poem, but the speaker doesn’t know the secret that the girls have discovered. The speaker found out that the girls uncovered this mysterious secret through an unnamed “third person” (Line 9), yet the girls didn’t tell the third person what the secret actually is, nor did they reveal the line in which the secret is hidden.

A week has gone by, so the speaker is sure the girls have forgotten both the poem and the secret, but the speaker loves the girls anyway—for loving the speaker, for loving the line of poetry, and for detecting the secret that the speaker still can’t identify. The speaker praises the girls for forgetting the line, as the loss will allow them to find the secret again and again in other life experiences and lines of poetry. “[M]ost of all” (Line 36), the speaker applauds the girls for believing that the elusive secret exists.