Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"A Work of Artifice" is a poem by Marge Piercy, first published in her collection "Circles on the Water" in 1982. The poem explores themes of gender roles and societal expectations.

Explanation:

The poem describes a bonsai tree and the care it receives from its owner, who prunes it and shapes it according to her will. The tree is depicted as a metaphor for women in society, who are expected to conform to societal norms and expectations. The owner is seen as a representation of men who attempt to control and shape women to fit these expectations.

Poetic Elements:

• Form: Free verse
• Imagery: The use of the bonsai tree as a metaphor for women
• Symbolism: The tree as a symbol of the societal expectations placed on women
• Personification: The bonsai tree is anthropomorphized, with the ability to speak and express a desire for freedom and growth

Conclusion:

In "A Work of Artifice," Marge Piercy critiques societal expectations of women and the pressures placed on them to conform to traditional gender roles. Through the metaphor of the bonsai tree, she suggests that women should not be treated as objects to be controlled and manipulated, but rather allowed to grow and flourish in their own way.

Poem Snippet:

The bonsai tree

in the attractive pot

could have grown eighty feet tall

on the side of a mountain

till split by lightning.

But a gardener

carefully pruned it.

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