Poems: Mother and Daughter Essay Example
Poems: Mother and Daughter Essay Example

Poems: Mother and Daughter Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (656 words)
  • Published: October 23, 2016
  • Type: Analysis
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What is motherhood? Being caring and having patience are the main two components that make a good mother. In the poems “Daystar by Rita Dove and “To a Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Pastan both of the mothers are going through different stages of motherhood. In both poems we see the similarities that both poems have and we also see the differences. Dove and Pastan show us an early stage of mother and a late stage of motherhood. Although they are different stages of motherhood, they are both tough stages to go through. The similarities that both of the poems have are that both mothers are in the mother hood stage.

The mother in Dove’s poem is the mother of young ones. As the reader, I know this because in the second line

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of the poem it says “but she saw diapers steaming on the line”(514). The mother in Pastan’s poem is a mother who is having a difficulty letting go of her daughter. She explains the difficulty through a memory she had when her daughter was eight. The memory of her daughter’s first bike ride and her watching her daughter ride the bike with no help of her mother. Another similarity is that the mothers in the poems are going through tough times in motherhood.

The mother in Dove’s poem is an individual who wants a break from all her responsibilities as mother. She wants to able to enjoy herself before she has to attend her children or to do the chores around the house. The mother in Pastan’s poem is going through the tough time of letting her daughter

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leaving the house for the unknown reason. The differences that both these poems have is that one of the mothers is watching her daughter leave the house which means she is no longer going to have to be responsible for her daughter. The mother in the other poem is at the beginning stage of motherhood.

She has more responsibilities than the other mother. The mother in Dove’s poem is not only taking care of her children but she also has the responsibilities of wife. She has to not only make sure that her kids are fed but also her husband. I feel like in Dove’s poem the mother wants a break from everything including her husband. In both poems, the mothers at some point feel happy but then they realize that it goes back to being sad or tired. In Pastan’s poem the mother is happy and surprised when her daughter leaves on her bike without needing the help of her mother.

The mother than also realizes that her daughter no longer needs her to be there holding her hand. In Dove’s poem the mother is happy when she gets relieved of her responsibilities as mother for at least an hour. She than realizes that after her children wake up from their nap, she is going to feel overwhelmed. Both poems show you different stages of motherhood. I really enjoyed reading both of these poems because I got to see the different stages that both mothers went through. Even though they were different stages, at the same time they were similar because the stages were tough for the mothers.

In the later

stage of motherhood, mothers may think that it is going to be easier because their children are going to grow up and that means fewer responsibilities for the mother. I think that it was tougher for the mother in Pastan’s poem because she had to watch her daughter grow up and watch her daughter leave the house without needing the help of mom. I can remember when I graduated high school that my mother did not want me to go away for college. She wanted me to stay and I told her that I am not always going to be living with her.

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