Phenomenal Woman by: Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman

By: Maya Angelou

Marguerite Annie Johnson knows as Maya Angelou was born in April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, she died in May 28, 2014. She was an American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer. Also, she was active in the Civil Rights movement and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim. She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, etc.

Phenomenal woman is a Maya Angelou poem, its starts in a conversational fashion where a group of women, wanted to know the secret of her success. The poet proudly says she is very happy with whatever she has and definitely is not going to take an invest to beautify herself. Her real appearance like the ones she mentions makes of her such a phenomenal woman. She also express that she will never do anything to get attention, and less of a man. What she tries to stand out is that there is nothing fake about her appearance. Confidence makes her a phenomenal woman who refuses to shape herself according to male desire.  The constant repetition of being a phenomenal woman is a way of celebrating the mature age of a woman.

This poem is a lyric poem because it express the feeling of a single speaker, in this case Maya Angelou. It’s also has a free verse structure, since it doesn’t have a pattern of rhythm or rhyme. The tone the author use is confident, the confident that she had with her body and with herself, although it has an ironical voice. Self-Confidence is the theme of this poem; she has confidence with everything in her, she is so confident that repeatedly calls herself a phenomenal woman.

            Maya Angelou uses some figures of speech, such as metaphors like:

“Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.”

In this line the poet compares desiring men to bees flocking. Another one can be: “The sun of my smile.” here, she compared the warmth of her smile to the one of the sun.  She also use the personification, in “And the joy in my feet”.  Maya Angelou also shows imagery, the first one is when she mentions men like bees flock and second imagery is, men coming onto their knees.

            When I first read this poem, it thought in all the girls that tries to get attention all the time just because of man. I think Maya Angelou with this poem teach all of them to be confident with their selves. She really doesn’t care in fitting in to the beauty that society constructs. Woman don’t have change their figure just to impress men, they have to love themselves just the way they are. Every woman has different qualities which make them unique and special.