A Work of Artifice by Marge Piercy - Essay Example

A Work of Artifice by Marge Piercy The qualities that make the poem memorable include the use of the bonsai tree as a metaphor for women, the tone of the poem by naming the title of the poem, A Work of Artifice, the use of deception to persuade the tree that its capability for development has been predestined and cannot be surpassed, absence of a specified rhyme scheme to give the poem additional seriousness and meaning, use of phrases, for example, “small and cozy”, to depict women, and use of imagery to convey the message without precisely highlighting the theme of the poem. Introduction Restraint of members of the female population has been evident in almost if not all communities. Harm produced by communal domination ranges from physical distress to psychological damage. Marge Piercy’s poem, A Work of Artifice, illustrates a bonsai tree and a gardener, which may be acting as metaphors (Piercy 1). This paper will look at the situation of members of the female population who are dealt with in an unequal manner. In addition, the paper will look at the various metaphors to highlight how females are treated unfairly. Body In the poem, Marge Piercy utilizes the bonsai tree as a metaphor for females or women. She sets the platform for an abrupt condemnation of women without the urge to inform the readers whom she is referring to by utilizing terms accustomed to the activity of gardening. Certainly, such straightforwardness would carry off from the authority highlighted in her appearances. The writer does not take too much time in making the audience conscious of the tone of the poem by naming the title of the poem, A Work of Artifice. In contrast to art which refers to a complex range of human being undertakings and the outcomes of those undertakings, artifice refers to some form of trickery or stratagem to accomplish a preferred, although, not honest, outcome. This theme is illustrated repetitively in the poem. Starting with an eight column portrayal of the bonsai tree, the writer makes it apparent that this little tree has been intentionally restricted from attaining its complete capability instead of having been purely dwarfed. This is according to the Japanese customs. In line 3, the tree’s capacity to “grow eighty feet tall”, differs with the view that it has been limited to a tallness of “nine inches”, by the planter who trims it fastidiously (Piercy 1). The art of bonsai subjects what may be perceived as a standard shrub or tree to the restrictions of a miniature land and pruning methods in an attempt to restrict its development and manage its form. The poem addresses issues that women face. It is fascinating to note that, in most scholarly resources, the word prune means to cut out undesirable or useless sections from a place. The act of pruning assumes an extra menacing feature when the bonsai tree being pruned in the poem is identified as a metaphor representing women. Therefore, pruning a female individual signifies that, in actuality, a female is simply an outcome of peculiar adjustments made by the gardener. In this situation, the writer presumes the gardener to represent a male-controlled community. In a similar manner as the bonsai tree is restricted from developing to its complete capacity, women are limited from progressing more than intellectual children and lowly maidservants in the view of society. This lessening of females is by no means depicted as an obvious effort to interrupt that which would usually advance, but is depicted instead as a natural process. From line twelve to sixteen there is a depiction of this technique of instruction as the planter croons while cutting away at the capacity of his rapt exquisiteness, be it woman or tree. Deception is evidently utilized to persuade the tree that its capability for development has been predestined and cannot be surpassed. The audience is made completely conscious that the tree represents a woman at this point. In line 13 and line 14, the expressions “small and cozy”, and “domestic and weak” respectively, are all mostly employed when depicting women (Piercy 1). The writer presumes that these are the phrases which members of the society employ when describing women and their capacities. In this way, women are deprived of any confidence in their capacities and should leave themselves to living the life designed for them by the different cultures. In line 16, the author describes what makes women to be comfortable. There is the use of the phrase, “to have a pot to grow in”. The pot most probably explains the conviction that females should, and are certainly compelled to feel privileged that members of the male population have taken the mandate to care for women because they are extremely unfit and frail to do things on their own. In addition to the deficiency of physical ability characteristically linked with the term, weak, also signifies a lack of moral strength, mental strength, and authority. All these deficiencies have been included in the stereotype of women. Women are frequently perceived as indecisive simpletons incompetent of handling different kinds of situations. According to the writer, this perception of females as frail domestic servants starts early on in life. The lines 17, 18, and 19 are made up of the mystery of effectively restricting the development of a woman (Piercy 1). A bonsai tree is restricted by trimming branches and roots, and by making branches to develop in specified ways by attaching them to wires. The structure of the lines in the poem is retained and extremely short to signify the bonsai tree brought to the attention of the audience in the initial line. In addition, the poem does not have a specified rhyme scheme but there is an accepted flow to it. It is free verse. In my opinion, this gives the poem additional seriousness and meaning because it addresses an extremely crucial issue. The resilient employment of imagery conveys the message without precisely highlighting the theme of the poem. Conclusion The paper has addressed the situation of females who are handled unequally in the different societies. The paper has assessed metaphors and different things that highlight the unequal treatment experienced by women. Marge Piercy demonstrates how the bonsai tree has the potential to attain its greatest potential and to experience the outer thresholds until they become extinct (Piercy 1). She emphasizes the daily things society engages in to restrain women, things that are frequently unnoticed because it has come to be anticipated. According to Piercy, the gardener or men have the responsibility of shaping the tree or women in the feminine design they should all fit into. They excuse their acts by deceiving women into supposing they should be appreciative of having a position and residence in the world. Works Cited Piercy, Marge. A Work of Artifice Marge. California: Leviathan Publications, 1970. Print. Read More