Dusting

“Dusting” is a character study. The quiet moment of the poem gives the speaker a chance to explore Beulah’s hidden depths. The poem follows Beulah on a typical day in her life: this is something she does “every day” (Line 1). Beulah’s thoughts and actions throughout the poem represent the regular rhythm of her life. On the outside, Beulah is an ordinary cleaning lady. She is “patient” (Line 3) in her routine. She works diligently, dusting wood until “scrolls / and crests gleam” (Lines 8-9). Underneath her quiet exterior, Beulah is a world unto herself. She is determined in her search for the carnival boy’s name, not stopping until she finds it at the very end of the poem.

She has complex, layered emotions. Beulah’s carnival memory is both nostalgic about the “silly boy” (Line 12) and alarming with the “rippling / wound” (Lines 15-16) of the fish. In her memories, Beulah is both independent and confined. She is the girl who kisses boys at the fair and goes to a dance, and she is the girl whom her father “gave […] up / with her name” (Lines 30-31). All this complication is obscured by Beulah’s surroundings.