English LiteratureICSE Class 9 · A Work of Artifice – Marge Piercy

A Work of Artifice (Marge Piercy): The Bonsai Metaphor and the Gardener's Song

Updated 18 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Marge Piercy's A Work of Artifice, a bonsai tree that could have grown eighty feet tall on a mountain is pruned by a gardener to nine inches while he tells it that it is lucky to have a pot. The tree is an extended metaphor for women whom society limits from childhood while claiming to protect them.

Notice the contrast of 80 feet and 9 inches: the gardener's 'kind' song hides control, just as society limits women while calling it care.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice

Poem and poet. The chapter page describes it as a short free-verse poem by Marge Piercy (born 1936), published in To Be of Use (1973). It is an extended metaphor.

The tree that might have been. A bonsai sits in an attractive pot. On a mountainside it could have grown eighty feet tall, until perhaps split by lightning: a free life with real risks.

The gardener. He prunes it carefully, so it stands only nine inches high, cutting back its branches every day. The word carefully sounds gentle, but the tree is cut down to size.

The song. As he works he croons that it is the tree's nature to be small and cosy, domestic and weak, and that it is lucky to have a pot. This is the central irony: restriction is presented as kindness and the victim is told to be grateful.

The turn to people. The poem leaves the tree and says that living creatures must be dwarfed very early. It lists images: bound feet, a crippled brain, hair in curlers and hands that are loved to touch. Society becomes part of the gardening.

Title. Artifice means skilful craft but also trickery. The bonsai is a work of art and the product of deception.

Themes. Women's oppression disguised as care; lost potential; conditioning from childhood; beauty as a cage.

Devices. Extended metaphor, irony, contrast of eighty feet and nine inches, and free verse. Only short phrases from the chapter page are used.

The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice: key facts

Metaphor key: Bonsai = a restricted person
Gardener = society
Pot = limits
Pruning = conditioning; Extended metaphor.
Contrast: Eighty feet | Nine inches; Lost potential.
Images of limitation: Bound feet
Crippled brain
Hair in curlers
Hands loved to touch; Turn to people.
Devices: Extended metaphor
Irony
Pun on artifice
Free verse; Name and effect.

How to answer The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice questions

Use this for a metaphor or theme question.

1Identify the literal image (tree, gardener).
2State what each stands for.
3Explain the irony in the gardener's words.
4Link the image to a social practice.
5Conclude with the poet's message.

The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A talent kept small

Suppose a talented girl is told by relatives that science is "not for girls" and that she should be grateful to be allowed a hobby, so she never learns more.

Which part of the poem does this resemble?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Potential is cut back.
The limit is called kindness.
The person is told to be grateful.

Answer: It resembles the gardener telling the bonsai it is lucky to have a pot, with a restriction presented as care.

Memory hook: Cut down and called lucky.

Tricks to remember The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

80 to 9
Eighty feet versus nine inches.
Use it when: Lost potential.
Lucky little tree
Restriction presented as kindness.
Use it when: Irony.
Gardener = society
The gardener stands for those who control.
Use it when: Metaphor.

The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The poet · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Who wrote A Work of Artifice?
(a) Marge Piercy (b) Vikram Seth (c) Hood (d) Eliot

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Chapter page (1).

Answer: (a) Marge Piercy.

Example 2: The tree (3 marks) · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

How tall could the tree have grown and how tall is it now?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Eighty feet (1)
Nine inches (1)
Pruned by the gardener (1).

Answer: On a mountain it could have grown eighty feet tall, but the gardener's pruning keeps it at nine inches.

Example 3: The gardener's song (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

What does the gardener tell the tree and why is it ironic?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Small and cosy (1)
Lucky to have a pot (1)
Restriction as kindness (1)
Irony (1).

Answer: He croons that it is the tree's nature to be small, cosy and domestic, and that it is lucky to have a pot. It is ironic because he is the cause of the smallness, and he presents the restriction as kindness and expects gratitude.

Example 4: Turn to people (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How does the poem move from the tree to people?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Living creatures (1)
Dwarfed early (1)
Images listed (1)
Society's role (1).

Answer: It says living creatures must be dwarfed very early and lists images such as bound feet, a crippled brain and hair in curlers. These show how girls are limited from childhood, so society itself becomes the gardener.

Example 5: The title (4 marks) · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Explain the pun in the title A Work of Artifice.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Skilful craft (1)
Trickery (1)
Bonsai and deception (1)
Link to the theme (1).

Answer: Artifice means skilful craft but also trickery. The bonsai is a beautiful work of art, yet it is the product of deception because its smallness is presented as natural. The pun links beauty to control.

Where students lose marks in The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Explaining the tree only
The people link is missed.
Wrong working
The tree is pruned.
Right working
The tree stands for women limited by society.
Do this: State both.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Mistake: Missing the irony
The gardener's lie is ignored.
Wrong working
He sings to the tree.
Right working
He sings that the tree is lucky to have a pot, which is ironic.
Do this: Name the irony.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Wrong numbers
Facts mixed.
Wrong working
Eight feet, nine feet
Right working
Eighty feet, nine inches
Do this: Learn the figures.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

Link the tree, gardener and pot to their meanings.
Name the irony of the gardener's song.
Mention eighty feet and nine inches.
Explain the pun on artifice.
Quote short phrases only.

Practice questions on The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
The poem is an example of:
(a) an extended metaphor (b) a sonnet (c) an epic (d) a ballad
Hint
Chapter page.
Answer
(a) an extended metaphor.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
In which collection was the poem published? (2 marks)
Hint
Chapter page.
Answer
In To Be of Use (1973).
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does the gardener do every day, and what does it suggest? (3 marks)
Hint
Cutting back.
Answer
He cuts back its branches, which suggests a gentle-sounding but controlling act of limiting growth.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What does "bound feet" refer to in the poem? (3 marks)
Hint
Old custom.
Answer
It refers to the old Chinese custom of binding girls' feet to keep them small, standing for physical limits placed on women.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the poem show that conditioning begins in childhood? (3 marks)
Hint
Very early.
Answer
It says living creatures must be dwarfed very early, so girls learn limits before they can question them.
Q6 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is the poem only about women? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
Hint
Think of "anyone".
Answer
Women are the main focus because of the images, but the metaphor applies to anyone shaped by society to stay small and dependent. The poem speaks of living creatures in general.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote it?Show answer
Marge Piercy.
2.Which collection?Show answer
To Be of Use (1973).
3.How tall could the tree grow?Show answer
Eighty feet.
4.How tall is it?Show answer
Nine inches.
5.What does artifice mean?Show answer
Skilful craft and also trickery.
6.What is the poem?Show answer
An extended metaphor in free verse.

The Bonsai Metaphor, the Gardener's Song and the Pun on Artifice: frequently asked questions

Which Class?

ICSE Class IX.

Who is the gardener?

Society or those who control others.

Is the poem fully quoted?

No; only short phrases from the chapter page.