A Work Of Artifice

“Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy (1971)

In this poem, written around the same time as “A Work of Artifice,” Piercy directly tackles the theme of beauty standards. Bleaker in outlook than “A Work of Artifice” and with a tragic denouement, "Barbie Doll" shows how the expectation to be delicate and feminine from an early age can literally break a woman. Though “Barbie Doll” and “A Work of Artifice” have similar themes, they differ in treatment. With its internal and half rhymes and regular stanzaic structure, “Barbie Doll” has the cadence of a lullaby. It deliberately uses childish words such as “pee pee” and “nightie” to show the infantilization of women. The poem is an example of the way Piercy deploys bleak humor and irony when discussing the dark underbelly of social practices.

“Woman Work” by Maya Angelou (1978)

This moving poem by popular feminist poet Angelou (1951-2014) can be interpreted as describing the actual experience of the confined bonsai tree or the domesticated woman. The woman may be safe indoors, but is caught in a relentless cycle of household labor. She poignantly dreams to be caught up in the wild elements so she is freed from the punishing rigor of domesticity.