Analysis of Poems

1. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy

The poem ‘Barbie Doll’ is written by an American poetess, novelist and social worker,
Marge Piercy. She is a famous feminist poetess and is known for writing harsh realities
that women face in society. The main theme of the poem is the way how society treats
women. Society has always influenced human lives, the lives of women in particular. The
society teaches them how to behave so that they are accepted by society. The little girls
are supposed to become ideal females who do everything society expects of them. The
central character of the poem is a teenage girl. She was raised like others, but she never
had a chance to be fully happy because she has always been busy with appeasing others.
Taking the example of a doll, the poem represents the problems and behaviors faced by
all girls at some point in their lives. Barbie Doll's tone is that of effort and death. From
the doll’s early life to her death, the tone changes throughout the poem. The girl in this
poem has a hard time being what everyone wishes her to be, and she kills herself at the
end. 
2. “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy
The poem ‘A work of Artifice’ is written by Marge Piercy. She is an American feminist
poetess, novelist, and social activist. The poem deals with women's societal boundaries.
She shows how women live in a limited way. The key subject of the poem is the injustice
faced by women in society. She makes the comparison of women’s lives with that of
bonsai’s. This piece of work is an opposition to the system of patriarchy that is followed
by most of the societies of the world. The poem discusses how the world has become
modern but the women are still oppressed. They are forced into living the way society
wants them to. The women live like birds in cages. The term bonsai tree in the poem
represents many aspects. It is a strong symbol of women’s exploitation, their failure to
rise, and their association with old traditions. It reflects the injustice of women, the lack
of opportunities for their freedom and growth. It's a little poem but the subject is big. The
poem explains how a bonsai tree, which can grow to an immense height in nature, is
deliberately taunted into something miniature, a pure, tiny snapshot of its future self. The
poem contains a satirical tone to explain how women are treated by society. 
 
3. “Digging” by Seamus Heany
The poem ‘Digging’ is written by an Irish poet Seamus Heany. It is the first poem of
Heany’s first collection of poems “Death of a Naturalist” published in 1966. The poem
starts with a pen floating over a blank paper, ready to write. Then the poet comments on
his father and grandfather's working principles and abilities, who were farmers. Although
the poet knows that he is breaking ties with the family practice of becoming a farmer, yet
he considers writing as his own way of ‘digging’. The poem describes the relationship
between three generations, the poet, his father, and his grandfather. The poet is leading a
different life as he has become a poet while his father and forefathers were farmers. But
even though the poet is not a digger of land, he mindful that he should respect his own
tradition by accepting the ideals of his ancestors. The identity of the poet and the nature
of his profession is influenced by his past. In this past, he sees a blueprint of how he can
pursue his own craft. The poem then raises manual labor through the understanding of
craftsmanship and creative practices. It also puts emphasis on the process of writing itself
as a sort of work. The subject of the poem is to describe that carrying on the profession of
forefathers is not the only way to carry the heritage, carrying on the values of forefathers
is more important. The poem delivers a tone of genuine appreciation and nostalgia.
Moreover, the affection for the hard work and lifestyle of the poet’s family that cultivates
the land is also depicted.
4.  “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich
The poem ‘Aunt Jennifer's Tigers’ is written by an American poetess. The poem was
published in her first book “A Change of World” published in 1951. The poem is written
from the perspective of an unknown person. In the poem, Aunt Jennifer portrays a
woman who creates imaginative tapestry panels for escaping from an unhappy and
miserable married life. Published in the time when the concept of divorce was intolerable,
the poem criticizes the conventional marital system. The poem claims that this marriage
system is persecuting the women. The poem contains the theme of fear, it depicts the
'frightened' Aunt Jennifer's frightening life in marriage problems. Her husband dominates
and is considered just like a Dad. The poem reveals that the patterns of dominance in a
conventional patriarchal marriage were meant to manipulate women at that time. The
anonymous speaker explains the life of a woman who can't escape her subordinate
 position in her married life. She cannot set herself free from the marriage either, because
that is simply unacceptable by society. The marriage has seized her freedom and has
made her fearful. Two contrasting tones of hope and misery are depicted in the poem.
When the poet describes the artwork depicting tigers, the tone becomes positive but it
becomes gloomy and miserable when the poetess discusses Aunt Jennifer. 
 
5. “Holy Sonnet 14” ( Batter my Heart) by John Donne
Sonnet 14 is one of the 19 Sonnets written by John Donne. The poem is a plea to God
that does not call on Him for grace or compassion, or compassionate help, but a brutal
and an overcrowded domination. In the poem, the poet calls on God to perform such
actions which are incredibly immoral, starting from thrashing the poet’s heart and ending
at raping him. The poet says that this would be the only way he can be platonic. The
usage of metaphors and powerful verbs in the poem creates the image of God as a brutal
victor. The climax of this unusual appeal by the poet is revealed in his paradoxical final
couple. In the last couple, the speaker argues that it's only through God's captivation he
can be alive and that he can only be pure if God enraptures him. Though it is veiled by
passion, sex and general hate, the subject of the poem is religion. The poet criticizes God.
It is a criticism of the fact that he does not defend his poor and powerless cities from
attacks even though he has got the power to do so. The tone of the poem here remains
aggressive and hostile towards. However, the last two lines of the poem are different
because they depict a resolution.
 
6. “Tony went to the Bodega but he didn’t buy anything” by Martin Espada
The poem ‘Tony went to the Bodega but he didn’t buy anything’ is written by Martin
Espada who was a political poet. He was a social activist and wrote about the struggle of
the immigrants. In this poem, the poet describes the struggle of a young boy; Tony,
whose father left and then he had to find his way through life. He goes to America for the
studies of law and lives there for pretty much time. But he always misses his motherland;
he always tries to find a feeling of belongingness in this faraway land but fails to do so.
The culture of homeland does not match with this new culture. Espada points out that
Tony's greatest achievement is the return to his Hispanic origins, where language and
 people are well known. Only there he can get a feeling of identity not present in
academics or the business surroundings. He goes back to the bodega but does not
purchase or sell anything. The poet shows that achievement comes from satisfaction inner
happiness. The poem tells readers that they need to experience life if they want to achieve
joy. The tone of the poem is imaginative and suggestive. 
 
Connection between “Barbie Doll” and “A Work of Artifice”
The poems ‘Barbie Doll’ and ‘A Work of Artifice’ are written by Marge Piercy who is a
famous feminist poet. She mostly writes about the injustice faced by the women and the
main player of this injustice in her view is the patriarchal system of the society. Both of
these poems share the same theme. She depicts women as the dominated part of the
society where they have no say in the decisions taken by men. They cannot take any
decision even in matters concerning their own lives. The poem “Barbie Doll” portrays the
women as a depiction of society’s desires. It describes that women don’t do what they
want to; rather they do what they are told to. In the poem “A work of Artifice”, women
are depicted to be a bonsai tree that could grow to immense heights but that is kept within
the house so that it remains safe. 
 
The poems share the same thematic grounds. The subject of both poems is the lack of
women’s freedom and the oppression faced by them while living in the society. The
poems are a satire on the society which does not let women live up to their potential.
Women are seen as objects with no feelings, emotions, and decision-making power, they
are ruled by the men of their families and men of society. A doll is the representative of
all girls in one poem and a tree depicts women in the other. Both the doll and bonsai tree
are inanimate objects and the poetess uses them to describe the condition of women in the
society. The usage of inanimate objects to describe living beings is ironic and satirical.   
 
The poems discuss the lost opportunities of women to grow and to be much more than the
roles they have to play while living within the house. The poems imply that staying
within the house can destroy the women’s potential. By living within the house, they just
learn to comply with the ways society would accept them. Both poems describe the
 limitations faced by women. Both poems describe how society thinks that women can
just be mothers, daughters, and housewives and can attain no other position. Always
dolled up like a doll and a beautiful bonsai tree, women are depicted to be delicate little
creatures. These creatures are meant to be protected by the men. And the most important
theme shared by both the poems is that women are expected to feel happy and contented
with the roles they have been given. No rebellion is expected of them, as it is not the
attribute of perfect women defined by society. The poems describe the tradition of the
society where women are just to be dominated and they have no other role. The only role
they have to play and be contented with it is obeying their men. 
 
The themes shared by ‘Barbie Doll’ and ‘A Work of Artifice’ are the women's
oppression, complying with patriarchal society, playing the defined roles, limitations on
women to stay within the house, lack of freedom, satire, and irony. The tone and
description of the women's oppression in both the poems are different but the subject is
the same. As both the poems are written by the same poetess, great similarity in the
themes is seen. In addition to the shared themes, the similarity in the style is also seen.
Both poems are written in free verse style with no proper rhyme scheme.