Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"This Life" by Rita Dove is a reflective and intimate poem that explores themes of memory, destiny, and the intertwining of lives. Through vivid imagery and personal reflection, Dove examines the connections between past dreams and present realities, weaving a tapestry of life’s unexpected paths and the relationships that shape us.

The poem opens with a scene set in the present, indicated by the “green lamp [flaring] on the table.” This setting provides a grounding point, a moment of clarity and understanding. The speaker is addressed by another, hinting at a shared history or a conversation that resonates with past discussions. The phrase “You tell me the same thing as that one, asleep, upstairs,” suggests a recurring theme or advice, possibly linking generations or shared between intimate partners.

Dove then shifts the focus to the speaker's internal world with a reflection on the “possibilities” of life, likened to “golden dresses in a nutshell.” This metaphor captures the richness and potential compacted into small, perhaps overlooked moments or decisions, echoing the sense of life's vast potential being encapsulated in singular, pivotal moments.

The speaker recounts a childhood memory, deeply emblematic and formative, of falling in love with a Japanese woodcut. This artwork, depicting a girl gazing at the moon, becomes a focal point for the speaker's early notions of romance and longing. The waiting for the lover in the woodcut parallels the speaker’s own anticipatory feelings towards life and love, suggesting that these early impressions have shaped her expectations and desires.

The arrival of the lover in the woodcut, described with specific details like “white breeches and sandals” and a “goatee,” unexpectedly mirrors the appearance of the person the speaker is with now — “he had / your face, though I didn't know it.” This revelation bridges the gap between the imagined and the real, indicating that the speaker’s current partner embodies the qualities she had dreamed of in her youth, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.

The poem concludes with a poignant reflection on the speaker's current life, marked by a sense of both familiarity and alienation: “Our lives will be the same— your lips, swollen from whistling at danger, / and I a stranger in this desert, / nursing the tough skins of figs.” Here, Dove contrasts the partner’s daring nature with the speaker’s feeling of being an outsider in her own life, engaged in mundane, even arduous tasks. The imagery of nursing figs, with their tough skins, symbolizes the nurturing of something potentially sweet and rewarding, yet requiring patience and resilience.

Overall, "This Life" by Rita Dove is a beautifully crafted poem that captures the essence of how our lives are shaped by our dreams, the people we encounter, and the realities we face. It reflects on how the past informs the present, how art influences life, and how we find ourselves living out the stories we once only imagined.

POEM TEXT: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Collected_Poems_1974_2004/fRyZCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

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