Saturday, February 6, 2016

Can someone help me identify some literary devices from the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy?

Literary devices range from the simple to the complex, and
Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" has several of them. A simple one can be found in the
third stanza:


readability="5">

Her good nature wore out
like a fan
belt.



This comparison uses
like or as, so it is a simile.


A more complex but also more
significant literary device is the use of symbolism. The title is "Barbie Doll" and it
is this plastic, overly perfect object which is a symbol for everything society expects
of a young girl (and older women as well). It is an unrealistic standard and an
unachievable goal, which becomes obvious when the young girl in the poem cannot live to
the standard and takes her own life.  The symbol of the "casket displayed on satin" and
the girl in her "pink and white nightie" is clearly representative of a real Barbie Doll
in her pink plastic packaging.


Finally, the imagery
(another literary device) of the poem is that which appeals to the senses. The cutting,
for example, is a visual, tactile (touch), and olfactory (smell) image. There are plenty
of others to be found, including the visual image of "fat nose and thick
legs." 


While it is true that this is an unconventional
poem in that it does not have the traditional poetic devices of rhyme and meter, it
clearly utilizes other literary devices effectively.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Can (sec x - cosec x) / (tan x - cot x) be simplified further?

Given the expression ( sec x - csec x ) / (tan x - cot x) We need to simplify. We will use trigonometric identities ...