Dusting By Rita Dove Analysis

“Dusting” by Rita Dove depicts a senior woman trying to remember the name of a boy that she recalls spending time with as she dusts. Through image pattern, allusion, and rhythm, the speaker describes the monotonous life that Beulah leads, and contrasting her present life with her past life in her struggle to remember the boy’s name, displayed by personifications. Beulah remembers an exciting event in the past with a boy through rhetorical question, rhythm, and the speaker’s attitude towards the memory. In the beginning, the speaker introduces the repetitive life the Beulah leads and the characterization of Beulah. When describing the environment around Beulah, the speaker contrasts light and dark imagery. The light image patterns in the beginning
The polysyndeton “And his kiss and the clear bowl.” lists the details of Beulah’s time with the boy. The speaker suggests that pieces of the memory are slowly surfacing by listing them one at a time by repeating “and.” Because the polysyndeton creates sense of babbling when excitement cannot be contained, the speaker reinforces the excitement that Beulah feels while remembering the past. As Beulah dusts and tries to recall the boy’s name, the internal rhyme “Wavery memory” adds rhythm to the action, reinforcing the routine that Beulah follows in the present. The flow suggests that the memories eases into Beulah’s mind and that the act of dusting is a moment of reflection as the mind wanders into the past. However. “Wavery” demonstrates that the memory is not fully developed as waves suggests wavering thoughts, reinforcing Beulah’s struggle to remember. The speaker is sentimental as Beulah describes returning home after spending time at the fair with the boy shown through “finer,” “deep breath,” “memory,” “home,” “parlor,” and “locket.” The sentimentality reflects wanting to remember the happier times of the past, creating a sense of nostalgia. Because the speaker is nostalgic shown by the description of “home,” the memories serve as an escape from reality as Beulah reminisces. Beulah describes a memory of coming home after a dance, and the sibilance “snow,”