Barbie Doll

All poems contain literary devices. That is, all poems possess identifiable techniques that help convey their possible meaning. Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” is no different. I can help you...

The use of "a fan belt" is a direct reference to a machine that has worn out from too much use. The image of the woman being conditioned to possess "good nature" is one that reflects a constant...

This poem makes use of situational irony, which is a turn of events—where the opposite of what one expects occurs. The subject of the poem is presented with dolls when she is a child, and after...

The poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy is less about physical death and more about the death of what the real ideal of women should be. The girlchild represents you and I: Typical, ordinary, and...

In the poem, "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, the speaker narrates and observes the anonymous girl's life as she attempts to cope with fitting into the expected role of women. The speaker could well...

Marge Piercey's poem "Barbie Doll" is an indictment of the socially constructed values of beauty which are forced upon women from the time that they are young. In the first stanza of the poem, we...

The difference between the literal meaning of the words and the author's meaning can be summed up in one word: irony. By that I mean, this girl was probably told these things. She was urged to...

Piercy's point in making the images of the doll cut herself and offer them reflects the sacrifices that women make in order to conform to a male dictated standard of beauty. The theme of obedience...

The poem, "Barbie Doll", written by Marge Piercy, is a critical commentary about the injustice of comparing a real, imperfect woman to an idealized, perfect version. In lines 22 and 23 of the poem,...

In the poem, "Barbie Doll," by Marge Piercy, the title reflects the seemingly perfect essence of the doll, which some might assume to reflect the physical characteristics of a perfect woman. In the...

The poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy tells the story of a young girls who is told she has a "big nose" and "fat legs." Despite all evidence to the contrary, this young girl believed the lie and...

Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" is a condemnation of the unrealistic expectations of beauty. The doll, Barbie, was once the iconic representation of what every woman should be. Things have...

First, let us review what an adjective is. Adjectives are words you use to describe nouns (or pronouns). If I write, "I just finished walking my noisy dog," the word "noisy" is an adjective telling...

Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” emphasizes the pressures that young women face to conform to stereotypical ideals of feminine beauty. The girl described in the first four lines of the poem seems...

The second stanza of Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" provides the audience with a direct characterization of the unnamed character whom the poem is about: a young and happy girl who, after...

Syntax refers to sentence structure, and a typical, grammatically correct sentence contains at least a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb or verbal phrase). Writers might take some license with...

Irony is the literary device used in Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll" throughout the poem, and, certainly, in the last verse. Irony is a literary tool that, unlike sarcasm and satire, is not cruel or...

Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" is an ironic commentary on the value society places on outward beauty and perfection as well as the potentially deadly consequences of this emphasis. It all...

In describing the girlchild as going “to and fro apologizing,” the speaker is implying that she has a marked lack of confidence in how she relates to other people. It's as if she feels she has to...

One theme of this poem is to show that it is soul killing to conform to the beauty image our society demands of women. An intelligent, healthy, and good natured young woman is brainwashed from...

This poem begins by describing the childhood of a young girl and how she is gifted baby dolls, toy stoves, irons, and makeup. These gifts are all not-so-subtle cues about the things that society...

The last verse of the poem "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy speaks of the way modern society focuses on the external when it comes to analyzing the worth of an individual, especially women, in...

The girl is advised by society, more specifically her parents. This poem describes the effect of unrealistic expectations of beauty on a young girl. When she is young, she is given dolls that...

The idea of conformity is key to the theme, but Marge Piercy is not saying that women must first lose their identity in order to find one. It would seem, rather, that Ms. Piercy implies that a...

Marge Piercy ends her poem "Barbie Doll" with the line "To every woman a happy ending" (25). Piercy uses the literary technique of irony, because the girl's ending was anything but happy....

This poem is ironic because the "girlchild" of the first line eventually achieves society's standard of physical perfection—the only measure of her worth important enough for people to notice—when...

While both statements of theme seem appropriate, perhaps the first one strikes more immediately at the tension created in the fifth line: Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said: You have a...

Marge Piercy creates dark, situational irony in her poem "Barbie Doll" through the use of imagery and pop culture references. The poem addresses the importance society places on feminine beauty,...

Marge Piercy's commentary poetry on the social pressures bestowed upon women make "Barbie Doll" a memorable poem that exposes the unfair expectations that women are meant to comply with. Lines...

In the poem, a little girl is born and is immediately provided with "dolls that did pee-pee," little kitchen appliances, and tiny red lipsticks. She is only a baby, and yet she is already being...

I think that the iconic reference to Barbie is quite evident in Piercy's poem. The construction of the Barbie Doll by Mattel is used to reference how women's identities are constructed by a...

I don't think that you get far in the literary criticism of this poem without focusing on feminist thought. Indeed, the feminist critical perspective is one of the most overwhelming in assessing...

Piercy's poem about cosmetic beauty and the social obsession about it is constructed to feed into the larger narrative that women are mere "dolls" in the patriarchal modern setting in which they...

Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" is a social commentary on the unreasonably high expectations for women as set by society. The poem makes it clear this standard is impossible to achieve--at least...

Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" is the tragic account of a young woman who grew insecure and dissatisfied enough about her appearance to actually take her own life. It begins with a few careless...

In the ending of the poem, Piercy has constructed a vision of woman as a result of industrialization. The idea of a fan belt being "worn out" has yielded a product that has broken due to overuse....

Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll" provides commentary on gender roles and expectations for women. Piercy describes a girl who grows up with traditional roles and descriptions of a feminine girl,...

The parable in Marge Piercy’s poem “Barbie Doll” has to do with a girl who has grown up under American cultural influences that suggest the strict standards of beauty that define women in society....

I don't have any information to add, but I do wonder if they kept Barbie's blonde hair and blue eyes for this--or any other cultural--doll. If the goal was simply to learn about the clothing from...