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Outline CL101 A Work of Artifice

This poem uses the imagery of a bonsai tree to symbolize the oppression of women. The bonsai tree could have grown tall in nature but is carefully pruned daily by a gardener to remain small. The gardener tells the tree it is lucky to be domesticated and weak. The poem suggests that like the bonsai tree, women's growth is stunted from a young age through practices like bound feet and stereotypes that portray them as weak and meant for domestic duties. The poet uses this symbolic comparison to comment on feminism and the need for gender equality.

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Paul Roevel Quirao
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840 views

Outline CL101 A Work of Artifice

This poem uses the imagery of a bonsai tree to symbolize the oppression of women. The bonsai tree could have grown tall in nature but is carefully pruned daily by a gardener to remain small. The gardener tells the tree it is lucky to be domesticated and weak. The poem suggests that like the bonsai tree, women's growth is stunted from a young age through practices like bound feet and stereotypes that portray them as weak and meant for domestic duties. The poet uses this symbolic comparison to comment on feminism and the need for gender equality.

Uploaded by

Paul Roevel Quirao
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Background of the author

Marge Piercy
A Work of Artifice by Marge Piercy
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.
It is nine inches high.
Every day as he
whittles back the branches
the gardener croons,
It is your nature
to be small and cozy,
domestic and weak;
how lucky, little tree,
to have a pot to grow in.
With living creatures
one must begin very early
to dwarf their growth:
the bound feet,
the crippled brain,
the hair in curlers,
the hands you
love to touch.
Who is the speaker? Is it the poet or a character/persona the poet takes on?
It is a third person omniscient point of view. She is telling a story of a bonsai tree being pruned. She is
relating the bonsai tree to the oppressed women.
The Poem's literal meaning
The is poem is about a bonsai tree. The tree could have grown very tall but the gardener trims it exactly
9 inches. The gardener take care of the tree and trims it everyday. The author then described the tree as

small and cozy and domestic and weak. The author is describing the tree but she really is
describing something else.
What the poem really is about
The poem is used to describe the oppression of women.
Imagery
symbolism, allusion
gardener- man (inferred)
bonsai- women, the oppressed
bound feet- Ancient Chinese custom (allusion)
hair in curlers- housewife duties/ housewife stereotyoe
crippled brains- men are smarter than women
hands you love to touch- women as a sexual being
Diction
The word 'Artifice'
Structure
A free verse that might be used in an ironic way
How does the poem relate to Marge Piercy
Theme
People are discouraged and molded to fit others' standard without considering their own standards,
personality and feelings.
Feminism
Equality
Gender
Gender equality

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