A Work Of Artifice Analysis

Girls need to worry less about fitting into the glass slipper, and more about shattering the wall of stereotypes. Women are hindered and sometimes prevented from realizing their creative opportunities. Today girls grow up in a world full of possibilities, although those chances are often cut short. Girls are raised to believe that they are not as capable as they are can be, and feel pressured into being feminine. This means being secure and comfortable with the desire to submit to a stronger man and is almost a form of vulnerability. The poems “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy and “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou explore the different ways that women are oppressed and how this leads to loneliness and bitterness.

Both poets chose diction to add

depth to their works. From the start, Piercy makes a huge decision on her word choice: she used the word “Artifice” because it means trickery, yet leads to thinking about the word art, which correlates with the idea of beauty. Men use trickery to oppress women and suppress their dreams, at the same time they are shaping women into what they believe they should be. This is very different from Angelou’s piece which begins with plain and concrete diction “The clothes to mend/The floor to mop/The food to shop,” which shows that she is busy and has too many things to finish(1-3). In “A Work of Artifice,” the poet specifically includes actions of the gardener such as pruning, whittling, and crooning to the tree. She decided to use such words to show that men do care about women, but sometimes their ego gets in the way. Piercy had grown up in a predominantly patriarchal society, reinforcing the idea that men are superior, the head of the family, and end up controlling everything. This proves that men shape women and sometimes even “dwarf their growth”(19). In the poem, it says that “It is your nature/to be small and cozy,/domestic and weak”, which shows the exact way men and often society discriminate against women. The first two adjectives sound pleasant whereas the second two reveal societal stereotypes for women (12-14). When reading concurrently with, ”living creatures/one must begin very early/to dwarf their growth”-- it represents how women are taught to think of themselves as inadequate so that they will not have to think for themselves or know how amazing they could be (17-19). This is demonstrated in the last few lines of the poem, “To bound feet/the crippled brain/ the hair in curlers./the hands you/ love to touch” where it represents submission and shows how women are objectified (20-24). Throughout the poem, “Women Work” there is a transition to more abstract diction. The last line says “star shine, moon glow/You’re all that I can call my own.” These words show that the speaker is looking for light in her dark and dull world that always has things that need to be done. The poet uses the phrase “The garden to weed” metonymically, which unveils that she may have a garden to weed, but she is most likely referring to her life that is full of metaphoric weeds that she wants to obliterate (8). She seems to be stuck in a cycle of neverending work, and only wants to clear her life out and not have to worry about all the stresses and loneliness that is weighing her down.
Both poems have distinct tones that set apart each poem.

In the beginning of Piercy’s poem she almost celebrates the latent potential of the tree that “could have grown eighty feet tall,” but quickly shifts to the use of words with a negative connotation in relation to the tree such as pruning and whittling (3). If those words were talking about merely a plant they would be fine, but since the poem is referring to a woman, a condescending tone is created. The way the gardener talks to the plant, “It is your nature to be small and cozy/domestic and weak,” shows a condemning tone because a tree's nature is to be anything but small, this also represents how men expect women to conform to their standards(13-14). Whereas in “Women Work,” it begins feeling tense and rushed with no descriptive words. Then, starting with “Shine on me. Sunshine” the poem transitions to a more serene tone as the speaker is searching for relief from her busy life (15). The speaker also suggests that death is her best option, “Cover me with white/ Cold icy kisses and/ Let me rest tonight,” which are all things that are associated with a dead body. In the last stanza, the speaker begins to feel more at ease with herself and the environment, although she cannot have nature, ultimately creating a bereft tone. This shows that even though she is busy all she wants is to find solace, specifically with nature as shown in the last line, “You’re all that I can call my own,” which is ironic because no one can

“own” nature. The shift in tone from the stanzas proves that there is a large contrast between work and relaxation. It also shows that both women are lonely, in Angelou’s poem the speaker feels empty and discouraged, however, she attempts to fill her world with work and nature. The way she speaks to nature as if it could rescue her from all her problems and give her peace that she cannot find elsewhere is an example of apostrophe. Piercy uses allusion in the last lines of her poem, saying, ”the hands you/love to touch” which references to an old hand soap commercial, by Woodbury which was considered the first to use sex appeal in modern advertising. Proving that a woman is not good enough unless her hands are soft enough for a man to hold, and furthering the idea of objectification of women.
Although sentence structure is often overlooked when reading poetry, it is vital for a complete understanding of both poems.

In “A Work of Artifice,” although it seems insignificant, a majority of the punctuation is around transitions regarding the bonsai tree. Having the punctuation around the plant which represents women, and shows how restricted the plant is, emphasizing the idea that women are confined. All the lines in the poem are short which shows that women are not able to reach their full potential because of being cut short. Girls can have ambition, and try to reach their highest potential or grow 80 feet tall, but in reality, they cannot have too much success, because it threatens the man’s superiority. In Angelou’s poem where the beginning is short and choppy with a simple iambic rhyme scheme, which shows that the speaker may have little to no education, but at the same times shows strength and perseverance through tough times. There is an anaphora of repeating “I got” in the first stanza, which emphasizes a number of things that are yet to be completed.The structure of her poem shows that there is a great divide between the stress of working hard and being grateful for relaxation. Meanwhile, Piercy’s entire poem is written in free verse which suggests that she has an end goal for women to have freedom and complete control of their lives. Although metaphor is generally figurative language, in this poem it can be considered syntax because the entire poem is a

metaphor. The way it is written-- as a complex metaphor--shows how women are objectified. However, in Angelou’s poem the speaker longs to be completely satisfied with natural things, which shows that she also wants control of something in her life.
“A Work of Artifice” and “Women Work” explore how women are objectified, and how feelings of mediocrity can lead to bereavement. Although the authors use techniques differently they both write with feminist undertones, and want to put an emphasis on the rights of women and that they should not have to conform to the expectations of society or anyone around them. Women should be given everything they need to succeed and nothing that should hold them back. Women need to stop being forced into societies roles of being small, delicate, and weak, becoming vulnerable. They need others around them to believe in them and remember how strong they are, so girls can reach their full potential, without being held back by stereotypes. Women can thrive in a male dominated world, all they need is a little dignity, intellect, courage, bravery and the determination to never take no for an answer.