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‘To be of use’ by Marge Piercy depicts one speaker’s preference to be around those who work hard and understand the importance of perseverance. The poem takes the reader through metaphorical comparisons between oxen, water buffalo, and seals.
To be of use | The Poetry Foundation. By Marge Piercy. The people I love the best. jump into work head first. without dallying in the shallows. and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight. They seem to become natives of that element, the black sleek heads of seals. bouncing like half-submerged balls.
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums but you know they were made to be used. The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real. From Circles on the Water: Selected Poems of Marge Piercy (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982). Used with permission.
Analysis: “To Be of Use”. “To Be of Use” is a poem that focuses on the value of hard work, the meaningfulness of that work, and the necessity of perseverance. In the poem’s opening, Piercy’s speaker discusses the “people [they] love the best” (Line 1), expressly detailing that those who work hard, even when the situations are ...
This Introduction by the poet to her selected works mentions the poem “To Be of Use” directly. Piercy names it as one of her “favorites.” Piercy also discusses how in creating poetry she tries to “give utterance to energy, experience, [and] insight” and make her “poems work for others.”
To Be Of Use. Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. Download PDF. Access Full Guide.
‘To Be of Use’ is the title of one of my favorite poems and one of my best-known books.” Piercy’s latest collections of poetry include The Crooked Inheritance (2006), The Hunger Moon: New and Selected Poems 1980-2010 (2011), and Made In Detroit (2015).
