Essay A Mother's Displeasure with Her Life in Rita Dove's Daystar

Furthermore, Sharon Olds and Molly Peacock convey the Tone of the poems to describe the characters emotions. In “Parents' Day” Olds stated “To see that woman arriving and to know

describing the characters and objects throughout the poem and in creating the atmosphere of the

The author uses diction throughout the poem to help the reader better understand how the speaker is feeling. For example, "It was hot. A size too large, my wool winter suit scratched" (lines 1-2) shows

2015 marks the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli where ANZAC Legends such as ‘Simpson and his donkey’ were born. These stories shed light on war but left the heart break of mothers and death of millions of soldiers in the dark.

“I have a little boy at home, A pretty little son; I think sometimes the world is mine In him my only one” (Document 2). In the beginning of the poem the mother talks about how only sometimes the world is hers and her sons. I deem this shows how she wishes to have more time with her beloved family. [In Document 6 we are presented with a photo of numerous children on a tenement overhang, with no adults around.] This shows that parents probably weren’t around a lot of the time, probably at work. [Also in Document 8 it shows children at work.] This means that not only were parents at work, but so were their kids. All together work mostly separated families from each other, which was very sad for

happens to her. Throughout my paper, I hope to analyze the poem, and ultimately gain a

The reader experiences euphoria and extreme amusement reading the entire poem which flows in a very stupefy way. But, it also promotes

The poem Daystar struck me from my first reading of it because I do the same thing this woman did sometimes. The apartment I share with my husband has a balcony where I have planted some flowers, and sometimes when the whether is nice I drag a rocking chair out there into the sun and just sit and let my thoughts wander. This poem reminds me of those moments.

This explains, further, that the girl is no longer at a stage of innocence. She has been introduced to the fear and dread that surrounds her, that she was once oblivious too. The use of imagery throughout the poem also helps the reader gain a further insight to the underlying meaning. She uses imagery particularly well when the girl has experienced the bull. Lockheed uses the words ‘darkness’ & ‘roar’ to describe the bull in more detail. Although, this helps the reader create the image of the bull, the words also portray thoughts of the dread and panic the girl has over this new chapter

“Daystar” comes from a book of poems written by Dove entitled Thomas and Beulah, which tells both the real and unreal stories of Dove’s maternal grandparents (Stein 64). Unlike Dove, who grew up during a time of women’s rights, her grandmother most likely did not have an admired career as a housewife. In discussing Thomas and Beulah, Stein explains, “It is almost painful to witness Thomas and Beulah, two people clearly devoted to each other, continually misinterpret each other's behavior” (70). Although “Daystar” is not necessarily written from an autobiographical perspective, Dove is using the research of her family and her own experiences to welcome us into the lives of the distressed Beulah.

symbolic richness, but at the same time the poem supplies the reader with a wide

“Daystar” by Rita Dove is an expressive poem, which centers on the main character, a young mother and wife, who internally struggles with her burdensome, daily duties, which creates a lack of freedom in her world.   Dove’s choice of words lets the reader empathize with her confined life.  In this poem, irony exists for the mere fact that from birth to adulthood the female population is brought up to feel fulfilled by simply becoming a wife and mother; however, this poem describes the monotonous duties and the joyless bond that can be between husband and wife.

her far from herself. In one line in the poem she brings us starkly into the world of a

Daystar by Rita Dove emphasizes gender roles and the expectations society has towards being a mother. It is often believed that mothers should assume responsibility for cooking, cleaning, tending to their demanding children and husbands. The poem illustrates the challenges women endure to live up to society’s expectations to be a fit mother and wife. As seen through the main character mothers have to make sacrifices that often puts everyone else’s happiness before their own. For example, the women in the poem desired to have time to herself but she couldn’t because she had endless chores and children to care for. Not having time to herself made her feel lost and unfulfilled.

Margaret Atwood creates a haunting and beautiful piece describing the experience a sad child goes through. She structures her poem by using five stanzas; two stanzas consisting of five lines, then one stanza with ten lines, and ending with two stanzas consisting of five lines. She uses simple yet powerful diction, tone, metaphors, similes, symbolism, and imagery to show the unknown speaker giving advice to a sad child. Her message/theme is sadness is a part of life and there are different ways to deal with it, but when death comes the thing that one is being sad about doesn’t matter.