A Work Of Artifice Summary

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The poem “A Work of Artifice” by Marge Piercy is about a bonsai tree that grew in its natural state with flaws that typically are not considered beautiful, but then, there was a gardener that came upon the tree that cut it down and change its natural state in order for the tree to become more beautiful, or without any flaws. My interpretation of this poem starts with how society’s standard of “beauty” represents the subject of this poem. Throughout the years, beauty has been molded by what society believes what beauty should be. Society has this image of what women should look like such as skinny, beautiful face, long hair, and tall. I could go on and on about society’s standard of beauty, but to say the least, it knocks down all other women who do not conform to society’s idea of beauty.…show more content…
Like the bonsai tree being split by lightening, a woman at her natural state has her imperfections whether it would be her scars or birthmarks, etc. Then the poem continues to say “But a gardener/carefully pruned it./It is nine inches high.” (6-8),which is when the gardener cut the tree so much to get rid of all of its “imperfections”. I interpret these lines to that of what society does to women. Society constantly tears down women just like the gardener tears down the tree. The gardener represents the society and the bonsai tree represents women. Both the gardener in the poem and society slanders women and “rebirths” them into something that they conceive as beautiful. Society “rebirths” women by telling that they should look a certain way, and how they look is not good enough or does not conform to society’s idea of beauty, just like in the poem when the gardener cuts down the bonsai
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