An Analysis of The Secretary Chant by Marge Piercy

The poem “The Secretary Chant,” by Marge Piercy, holds many traits that are meant to pull the reader in. As with any poem, the words mean far more than they appear to. Every line is written with a goal. Every word is there for a explanation otherwise, the poem would not be the exact same.

“My hips are a desk.” The 1st line sets the tone for the whole poem. Piercy begins by personifying a desk as her hips. This metaphor is critical to the rest of the poem. When you consider of a desk, what is it that you believe of? Frequently it is a station for operating. It is the place where all supplies are laid out, and all perform is becoming accomplished. She says that her hips are a desk because they are a foundation for her physique. The poem is filled with metaphors where body components are compared to workplace supplies. The poem signifies to show a transformation from a lady to a walking operate machine. She feels as although she does everything, she is the foundation of all workers in the perceived office setting.

“From my ears hang chains of paper clips. Rubber bands form my hair.” These two lines have numerous meanings. An clear which means for these phrases is that she is the location where everybody goes to obtain their workplace supplies. But there is a deeper meaning to these sentences as well. What do paper clips and rubber bands do? They are made to hold items with each other. By saying that she is made of these two objects implies that a secretary is the glue that holds the whole workplace with each other. With no her, the rest of the office would basically scatter like unclipped papers.

There are 4 onomatopoeias in this poem: buzz, click, zing, and tinkle. These words are quite critical to the poem. With these words, Piercy is capable to add to the effect that she creates with the personification of other office supplies. These words are grouped in pairs in the seventh and fourteenth lines of the poem. The placements of the words alone develop a specific feeling. It is as if the sounds are interrupting the poem, conveying a far more mechanical really feel to it.

Piercy goes on to describe her head in two distinct techniques. The very first is a comparison to a badly organized file. She says so since a secretary has a lot of distinct factors to preserve track of. Piercy then writes, “My head is a switchboard exactly where crossed lines crackle.” A secretary is most likely to have more than one particular person that she has to preserve organized. When she says that crossed lines crackle, she indicates that she might usually confuse specific information.

Right after the second set of onomatopoeias, Piercy goes on, “Swollen, heavy, rectangular I am about to be delivered of a infant Xerox machine.” This is integrated in the poem to add to the depressing really feel of insignificance. What Piercy meant by this is how she feels that girls might in no way quantity to something more than a secretary. She says that she is delivering a Xerox machine, meaning that her offspring is going to end up undertaking exactly what she does. Also, she uses the term Xerox simply because all a Xerox machine was employed for was creating copies. This is ironic due to the fact she is generating an exact copy of herself, just as a Xerox machine would do.

The general meaning of this poem can be located in the final line, “File me beneath W since I wonce was a lady.” It was written to show the reader a transformation that girls in the workplace are going through. Piercy wrote this to express her feelings. She feels as although her job has overtaken her existence as a particular person. Back in 1973, when she wrote this poem, ladies had been still struggling for equality. The ending phrase helps bring the message that workplaces had been nevertheless dominated by guys, and she herself ended up not becoming seen as a woman.

The poem has each a literal which means and an underlying message. Piercy feels as though girls are not noticed as equal in the workplace, and she makes use of metaphors and personification to support bring her points across. The onomatopoeias break up the physique of the poem and the impact tends to make the poem appear even quite gloomy.