Posted: December 11th, 2014

Daystar by Rita Dove

Daystar by Rita Dove

Order Description

This research paper should be on the Poem “Daystar” by Rita Dove. The

research paper needs to use the same sources that were provided by you

on the annotated bibliography which I will attach. You can use what

you need from the paper just ensure that it is a research paper. The

Works Cited page should have at least six secondary sources in

alphabetical order. These should include three books and three journal

articles.
Any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. I still

have not received a grade, I will inform you as son as I get one. Just

in case more changes need to occur.

Germaine Pitt
Teacher
English 102
7 December 2014
Essay # 5
Dove’s DayStar Poem – Woman’s Stifled Situation in Society
Rita Dove’s Daystar poem describes a woman who is overwhelmed by her

wifely and motherly duties. The depicted woman is deprived of personal

time because she acts as a wife, changes baby diapers and carries out

cleaning chores. The poem specifically explores the experiences of a

housewife. Ironically, although she spends the entire day at home,

this woman’s hands are practically full throughout. After carrying out

cleaning and baby care duties during the day, this woman has to attend

to the husband when he comes home in the evening. The woman’s life is

monotonous, boring and dull.
The speaker describes phenomena in a very clear and vivid manner, thus

reflecting use of imagery. Such imagery would arouse audiences’

senses, prompting readers to imagine the portrayed woman’s existence.

In the first line, the depicted woman is exhausted and needs time to

think (Dovea Line 1). Nevertheless, this woman’s quest for calmness is

thwarted by the existence of soiled diapers that need to be cleaned.

The toy that is “slumped behind the door” symbolizes the mental and

physical exhaustion of the depicted woman (Dovea Line 4; Summers and

Hoffman 57). Such fatigue results from the endless duties that this

woman cannot run away from. This woman feels lifeless. Her only avenue

for feeling free entails indulging in thoughts during the brief

moments in which she feels alone and relaxed.
Ironically, some aspects that appear to calm the depicted woman are

considered socially awkward. These features include “the pinched

armour of a vanished cricket, [and] / a floating maple leaf” (Dovea

Lines 9, 10). These items reflect destruction and would thus not calm

a person in normal situations. The fact that this woman finds solace

in these entities emphasizes that the lady is deprived of time,

leisure and fun (Dovea Lines 9, 10; Doveb 198). The woman’s life is

characterized by continuous labor. This woman is a generous giver but

does not receive anything in return. The woman seems sad and withdrawn

as she hopes for better times and some positive difference in her

life.
Dove’s main theme concerns entrapment; the depicted woman is ensnared

within a mundane existence. The poem explores the entrapment of women

based on society’s views about what female members should be.

Considering that “Thomas…/ lurched into her’”, the entrapped person is

a married woman (Dovea Lines 21, 22). Thomas is evidently the depicted

woman’s husband. This woman is also a mother since “Lisa appeared

pouting … And just what was mother doing” (Dovea Lines 16, 18). Lisa

is obviously the woman’s young daughter who is inquisitive. The

portrayed woman desires to escape the entrapment caused by the husband

and Lisa.
Within the first stanza, the depicted woman clearly expresses her

yearning for personal space, both mentally and physically. She

“[wants] a little room for thinking” (Dovea Line 1). The term ‘room’

in this case, symbolizes both physical as well as psychological

aspects. Physically, the depicted woman desires to escape from her

house that has various disturbing distractions. Mentally, this woman

aspires to stop thinking about motherly duties with the aim of

attaining elevated psychological awareness. This yearning is never

quite fulfilled as it is repeatedly pushed back. The daily chores of

wife and motherhood take centre stage and replace the woman’s

yearning. The sight of “diapers steaming / on the line” quashes any

hope that this woman would ever be free (Dovea Line 1, 2).
In the second stanza, the doll symbolizes the depicted woman’s

abandonment and self neglect. In this regard, the speaker reports that

“A doll [is] slumped behind the door” (Dovea Line 4).  Rejection and

self neglect are factors of the woman’s entrapment. This doll

represents the woman’s neglected life; those around the woman neglect

this lady. Nobody pays any attention to the depicted woman except when

the woman’s compatriots need her. To illustrate this idea, the speaker

reports, “Later that night … Thomas …/ lurched into her” (Dove 58;

Dovea Lines 21, 22). In turn, the woman neglects herself. The woman’s

self neglect is evidenced by her choice of activity during her free

time. Instead of looking at her free time as an opportunity for

relaxation and for carrying out self satisfying activities, the woman

regards her free time as time, ‘to sit out the / children’s naps”

(Dovea Lines 6, 7 ). The slumped position of the doll can also reflect

the woman’s resignation to her circumstances and her hopelessness

because there is no way out.
As she sits behind the garage, the woman considers a number of

matters. Her thinking can be seen as an unconscious reflection about

her inner desires. She seems to desire escape from her current

circumstances but feels ill equipped to do so. The “vanished cricket”

and “pinched armour” represent such desire for escape (Dovea Line 9).

Given that her existence is determined by external forces, this woman

feels purposeless and directionless. The woman’s lack of self

direction is symbolized by the “maple leaf” whose direction is

determined by the wind (Dovea Line 10). To illustrate the woman’s

directionless nature, the speaker mentions “‘a floating maple leaf”

(Dovea Line 10). The woman seems to be in a continuous search for

meaning; she keeps discovering herself. To confirm this idea, the

speaker notes that “when she closed her eyes, she’d only see her own

vivid blood” (Dovea Lines 12-14). This statement illustrates the

woman’s self-discovery. This stanza further illustrates that the woman

has totally lost herself and that the only way she can reconnect is by

zoning off and staring into nothing. The phrase “‘she’d only see her

own vivid blood” reflects the woman’s detachment from society (Dovea

Lines 13, 14). This passage can also illustrate the woman’s

achievement of freedom. This is because her inner, real self only

comes out and roams around freely when the woman is disconnected from

everything.
The theme of entrapment is furthered through the woman’s

daughter (Carlisle 135). Compared to the mother, this female child

appears to assume a superior position. The speaker reports that the

daughter is “at the top of the stairs” (Dovea Line 17). According to

the daughter, the mother holds a similar position with “the mice”

(Dovea Line 19). To illustrate this notion, the daughter wonders, “And

just what was mother doing / out there with the field mice” (Dovea

Lines 18, 19). Through the phrase “and just what”, the daughter shows

an element of contempt for the mother (Dovea Line 19). This notion is

affirmed by the daughter’s damning conclusion; the mother must have

engaged in meaningless activities. By posing the rhetorical question,

“‘why, [was mother] building a palace”, the daughter demonstrates that

the mother’s pursuit is worthless (Dovea  Line 20).
Through the depiction of the woman’s husband, the theme of entrapment

is carried further in the last stanza. There is no indication that any

communication that would ease the lady’s loneliness occurs between the

husband and the woman. Instead, the speaker creates an image of

oppression (Mullen 234). This is because Thomas, the woman’s husband,

fulfils his sexual needs without any regard for the wife’s feelings.

This suppression is evidenced through the term “lurched” within the

phrase, “Thomas / rolled over and lurched into her [woman]” (Dovea

Lines 21, 22). This description is in contrast to phrases that are

conventionally used to express similar situations. These alternative

terminologies include “making love” (Dovec 105).
The theme of entrapment is also illustrated by the woman herself.

While examining her situation, she acts as if she were somebody else

looking in from outside herself. This is evidenced by the fact that

during her relations with her husband, the woman separates herself

from what is happening and drifts off to another place. Through the

phrase, “She would open her eyes / and think of the place that was

her’s / for an hour”, the speaker communicates this idea (Dovea Lines

23-25). This can be seen as a figurative window that illustrates her

desire to escape (Spiegelman 228). The woman also describes herself in

relation to her place of escape that is, being “nothing, pure nothing”

(Dovea Lines 25, 26).
In conclusion, Dove’s DayStar poem can be interpreted in two ways. One

approach entails the struggle of a woman within the difficult

circumstances she finds herself in and the roles she plays as both

wife and mother. In all this, the woman tries to escape a vicious

cycle of monotony. She seeks to find herself and identify her purpose.

On the other hand, the poem could be seen as symbolizing the place of

a “woman in society” (Summers and Hoffman 55). The woman has a limited

worldview and is relegated to motherhood and wifely duties. The

harshness of the woman’s environment deprives her of support that

would help her to actualize herself. Neither the husband nor the

woman’s offspring offer help. This situation is especially ironical

because the child who looks down on the woman is a daughter who is

likely to end up in identical circumstances. If the daughter

encounters similar experiences, the vicious cycle involving

suppression of the woman in the society will be enhanced. In the

recent past, women’s roles were limited to child bearing, being wives

and housekeeping.
DayStar clearly shows that female suppression is depressing since it

deprives women of wholesome lives. This is in the sense that the

depicted woman has no career and does not have an opportunity to

further her education or hobbies. Lisa, the daughter, looks down on

the mother. Lisa’s contempt signifies that, other than begin burdened

with excessive responsibilities, the older woman has no place in the

society. These downsides do not however seem to deter the adult woman

from enjoying her not-so-privileged-life (Dovec 21). This discussion

shows that the woman struggles for freedom in her own ways. Neither

does she neglect her duties nor is she rebellious. Rather, the woman

copes with her restrained life. The poem also shows that a woman is

vital in society. The man (husband) and children all look up to her.

No one is concerned with how the woman is fairing, feeling or what she

would like to have. This woman continuously gives and ends up drained.

She however manages to retain some strength for the responsibilities

that await her.
Annotated Bibliography
Summers, and Hoffman. [Eds.]. Domestic Violence: A Global View.

Illustrated ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.

Print.
Summers and Hoffman’s text is important to this essay because it

offers a comprehensive definition about the concept of domestic abuse.

According to the authors, domestic abuse denotes whatever form of

mistreatment, including: sexual, physical, and psychological. Abuse

can be perpetrated by one or all of the persons in situations wherein

people reside together. The married woman in Dove’s DayStar poem

suffers psychological and sexual abuse. By forcing himself onto the

wife, Thomas, the husband, sexually abuses the woman. The woman’s

neglected condition whereby she is not treasured by the daughter and

the husband reflects psychological abuse.
Dove, Rita. Through the Ivory Gate. Saint Louis, MO: San Val,

Incorporated, 1993. Print.
Dove’s Through the Ivory Gate novel is useful to the paper because the

novel features elements that are examined in the poem. Within the

novel, a female protagonist named Virginia King throws away an African

American baby doll that was obtained from this character’s

grandmother. Through this action, King refuses to accept the society’s

patronizing views about women. Being a representative of the society,

the grandmother gifts King with a doll to encourage King to embrace

society’s accepted femininity that is limiting. King does not want her

individual potentials to be stifled by these restrictive societal

norms. She seeks a reality that transcends such conventional gender-

based values. While reflecting on her predicament in the Daystar poem,

the depicted woman mirrors King’s ideology. Both women realize that

the society-ascribed lives they lead are harmfully limiting and yearn

for alternative existences.
Dove, Rita. The Poet’s World: A Collection of Essays. New York:

MacMillan Publishers. 2006. Print.
The Poet’s World is thematically significant to the present paper

because the themes of gender, women’s suppression and desire for

emancipation are evident in this volume. The paper touches on these

themes with regard to the experiences of the unnamed mother and wife

within the DayStar poem. The various essays of The Poet’s World show

that Dove is interested in examining the status of the woman in

society. This volume also demonstrates that Dove takes exception with

women’s subjugated condition and would like this situation to change.

Mullen, Harryette. “Rita Dove’s Adolescence II and Hully Gully.” The

Explicator 70.3 (2012): 234-237. Print.
Mullen’s article is significant to the paper because it describes some

of Dove’s literary themes that are discussed in the essay. According

to Mullen, within the Yellow House on the Corner text, Dove explores

the concept of awakening among girls. Dove explores similar themes of

freedom and self-discovery in the Grace Notes poetry collection.

Through such exploration, Dove shows that the roles that are ascribed

to girls based on gender considerations impede the liberty of female

youngsters. Mullen’s article mirrors the content of the paper because

both works show that women suffer gender-based limitations of freedom

that are harmful. The constrained situation of the woman in the

Daystar poem resembles the predicament of the girls that Mullen looks

at.
Carlisle, Theodora. “Reading the Scars – Rita Doves The Darker Face of

the Earth.” African American Review 34.1 (2000): 135-150. Print.
Carlisle’s article looks at some of the thematic bases for Dove’s The

Darker Face of the Earth play. By stating that Dove explores the power

and domination aspects of human relationships in the play, the article

reveals an important aspect of Dove’s literature. This power and

domination-based feature is reflected in the DayStar Poem. Considering

that the paper examines the power and dominance dynamics within the

depicted woman’s family, Carlisle’s article is thematically relevant

to the essay.
Willard, Spiegelman. “Rita Dove Dancing.” Virginia Quarterly Review

81.1 (2005):228-234. Print.
With reference to Dove’s American Smooth work, Spiegelman explains

that Dove focuses on the theme of freedom. According to Spiegelman,

Dove advocates a dance style in which female and male participant are

at liberty to disengage from each other’s grips. This physical

detachment permits dance partners to express themselves in individual

ways and facilitates improvisation. Spiegelman’s explanation reflects

the content of the paper because the essay examines the liberty status

of the depicted woman in DayStar. The paper argues that the woman

would obtain the benefit of freedom if the daughter and the husband

stop impeding the woman’s personal desires. This matter makes

Spiegelman’s article thematically important to the essay.

Works Cited
Carlisle, Theodora. “Reading the Scars – Rita Doves The Darker Face of

the Earth.” African American Review 34.1 (2000): 135-150. Print.
Dove, Rita.a “DayStar.” Black Poetry, Black Poems, Black Poets, n.d.

Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
Dove, Rita.b Through the Ivory Gate. Saint Louis, MO: San Val,

Incorporated, 1993. Print.
Dove, Rita.c The Poet’s World: A Collection of Essays. New York:

MacMillan Publishers. 2006. Print.
Mullen, Harryette. “Rita Dove’s Adolescence II and Hully Gully.” The

Explicator 70.3 (2012): 234-37. Print.
Spiegelman, Willard. “Rita Dove Dancing.” Virginia Quarterly Review

81.1 (2005): 228-234. Print.
Summers, Randal, and Hoffman Allan Michael. [Eds.]. Domestic Violence:

A Global View. Illustrated ed. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing

Group, 2002. Print.

   
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