In Marge Piercy’s poem “Breaking Out“, the poetess narrates how she had been ill-treated in her childhood by her parents for being a girl child. Women were supposed to do all the household chores and comply to the societal norms instead of pursuing their dreams. But Marge protested against the unfair beating she received by ‘smashing the ruler to kindling‘ when she was eleven. Only then she realized that those norms were easier to break than she thought and she should learn to break more of those to ensure that women get the freedom and rights they deserve.

This poem is a revolt against the stereotypes and gender bias. In its theme of women empowerment and gender equality, the poem Breaking Out resembles Brucellish K Sangma’s I Believe and Elizabeth Browning’s If Thou Must Love Me.

[For the full explanation of the poem, please visit Breaking Out by Marge Piercy: Poem Summary & Analysis. ]