Marge Piercy’s Persuasive Diction

1478 Words3 Pages

Marge Piercy is an accredited American writer and poet. Her works include poems such as “Barbie Doll” and “A Work of Artifice” that focus on society’s treatment of women, as well as poems which speak to more broad social issues. The vast majority of her poems speak to qualities that she deems virtuous. Many of the ideals she values stem from her childhood and past experiences; those same ideals are reflected in her poems which clearly show her passion for the feminist and civil rights movements. She often writes about broad social issues in her poems through the perspective of a feminist and uses powerful language to evoke feelings in the reader. She rarely states her opinions directly; rather, she uses various literary elements and poetry styles to portray her opinions to the reader in such an obvious way that the reader cannot help but understand what she intends them to perceive. Furthermore, her diction is so powerful it persuades the reader to agree with her opinions on a myriad of topics. Marge Piercy’s poetry is often written in the form of freestyle and blatantly portrays her opinions on various social issues through the diction and other literary elements she uses in her works.
As a child, Piercy had a close relationship with her mother, more so than her father, and this is likely what influenced her views to develop as that of a feminist. While her relationship with her mother became strained as Piercy grew older, they reconciled before her mother died in 1981 (McManus). She credits her career as a poet and writer to her mother, who was an avid storyteller and urged her to observe the surrounding world (McManus). Piercy’s mother’s urgings to be independent influenced her beliefs about a woman’s capabilities so that Pie...

... middle of paper ...

....
.
Piercy, Marge. "A Work of Artifice." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
.
Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll.” Literature Craft and Voice. Ed. Christopher Bennem. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2012. 707-08. Print.
Piercy, Marge. ""To Be of Use"" Northnode. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
.
Schwyzer, Hugo. "Thursday Short Poem: Piercy’s “Always Unsuitable”. "Hugoschwyzer.net.
WordPress, 03 Dec. 2009. Web. 06 May 2014.
.
"The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission." Archives.gov.
National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Web. 05 May 2014.
.

Open Document