A Review of Phenomenal Woman, a Poem by Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou was written in 1978 and published in 1995. “Born Marguerite Ann Johnson, April 4, 1928, who became an American poet, memoirist, actress and important figure in the American civil rights movement, has been called America’s most visible black female autobiographer”” (Maya). “Phenomenal Woman is a narrative poem to help woman understand who she was and what she thought she was. Also to help women see what they should be in a male-dominated society” (Is). “Phenomenal” does not just mean ‘spectacular’ or ‘special.

It also means “perceptible by the senses or immediate experience’. The poem is the opposite of expressing only inner but not outer beauty. It is saying that her inner beauty and energy is directly expressed through her ‘phenomena’- her body angle, waist swing, fiery eyes, which happen to be the complete opposite of the “Barbie-Doll” look. She focuses on the power in herself as a woman as well as her physical features. This poem expresses what every woman wishes they could feel and Maya Angelou is telling the world that yes you have imperfections but you are still beautiful inside and out no matter what anyone says.

This essay will look at; the language of the poem in “Phenomenal Woman”, why the poet has chosen this topic and theme in a Feminist perspective, and what the voice is behind the words in the poem and the audience the poet is trying to appeal to.

In this poem, “Phenomenal Woman” there is many literary devices with a first person point of view.

The first one is imagery; this occurs throughout the whole poem and makes it very clear to the reader how the woman appears and how she is feeling and carries herself. In the first stanza, “I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size” (line 2) is the first sign of imagery. Rhyme is noticed first in the first stanza, line one and two, “pretty women wonder where my secret lies I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size” (line 1 and 2) lies and size rhymes there. It also occurs in stanza one with the words ‘hips’ and ‘lips’ (line 7 and 9). In stanza two with the words ‘please’, ‘knees’, and ‘bees’ (line 2, 5 and 7). Stanza three with the words: ‘me’, ‘mystery’, and ‘see’ (line 2, 5 and 7). And then again in stanza four, with: ‘bowed’, ‘loud’, and ‘proud (line 2, 4 and 6) and with ‘hair’ and ‘care’ (line 9 and 11). Also in the first stanza, there is Anaphora with the word “The’. “The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips.” (lines 7, 8 and 9) Anaphora also occurs in stanzas three, and four, also with the word ‘The (lines 10, 11 and 12). Repetition is in all four stanzas always repeating the lines “I’m a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” (Angelou) In stanza two, “The fellows stand or fall down on their knees” (lines 4 and 5) is a hyperbole as well as “it’s the fire in my eyes” (line 9). “It’s the fire in my eyes” (line 9) is also a metaphor, as well as then they swarm around me, a hive of honey bees” (lines 6 and 7). “A hive of honey bees” (line 7) is alliteration as well. Alliteration also occurs in the first stanza; line one with “Pretty women wonder” (line 1). In stanza four, assonance occurs with “it’s in the click of my heels” (line 8). Using the Feminist literary critic, the main theme of this poem is that women are much more powerful than men and women need to see that and be more confident about themselves. Maya Angelou expresses the message of the poem very clearly and not hidden at all. The first sight of the message that came across is that the poet is advising “all women to be self-confident no matter what others say or think” (Homework). As Maya Angelou writes, “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size” (lines 1 and 2). Angelou is clearly referring to our culture’s connection between thinness and attractiveness in women. From a feminist perspective, this is a social expectation as women believe that they are expected to almost starve themselves in order to be considered ‘pretty’. Yet Angelou challenges this link between skinniness and sex appeal as the speaker states that she is far from model-thin but still beautiful in her own way. She goes on to claim that her attractiveness is in “The span of my hips, The stride of my step, The curl of my lips” (lines 7, 8 and 9). Then closes the stanza with “I’m a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That’s me” (lines 10, 11, 12 and 13) By having confidence in her body type, Angelou’s writing serves as an inspiration to the majority of women who don’t fall within the “super model” type. In the second stanza, she writes, “I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees” (lines 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18). In this stanza, the feminist themes deepen, as Angelou begins to explore male and female gender identities. From these lines she is saying she believes females possess a sort of seductive power over men. Maya Angelou is portraying women as more dominant than men. In the third stanza, as she writes, “Men themselves have wondered What they see in me. They try so much But they can’t touch My inner mystery. When I try to show them. They say they still can’t see” (lines 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36). These lines further support the fact that she believes that female figures possess more power than men. In the final stanza, the lines, “Now you understand Just why my head’s not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing, It ought to make you proud” (lines 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51). Though the obvious meaning of holding her head high is a physical expression of her sense of pride, she is also suggesting that the woman is refusing to believe that a man has the authority over a woman. When she writes “It ought to make you proud” (line 51), she directly appeals to the females as a whole, urging women to welcome and cherish their beauty.

When Maya Angelou was 4, her parents got a divorce making her live with her grandmother. At the age of 8 she returns to live with her mother and there gets molested by her mother’s boyfriend. She became mute after telling her brother of the incident resulted in her mother’s boyfriends death. She began to write poems and realized she had a talent. Her whole life she dealt with racial discrimination but eventually built up the courage and confidence to overcome her situation. In this poem she is reaching out to all women and telling them that you are perfect the way you are and you do not need to change for anyone and should never let anyone change you. “Racism was the legally enforced way of life in the American South. This poem partly celebrates Maya Angelou’s triumph over racism” (Intel Corporation). The poet is trying to appeal to women of colour and women uncomfortable with their appearance. “Maya is a big woman, ‘phenomenal’. In the first stanza she says that she confuses the celeb types, the pretty fashion models. They often ask her to explain the impact she makes, as she is neither cute nor thin. When she tells them her so-called secret they don’t believe her” (Intel Corporation). “Maya restates the point about her self-confidence. She doesn’t pose or seek attention. Maya hopes she inspires people to be self-confident like her. She claims her power lies in the way her body expresses her self-belief as a woman” (Intel Corporation).

Thes poem “Phenomenal Woman” is very powerful. It draws attention because there are so many literally devices and the feminism in this poem is just so large. It is a special poem because it really reaches out to women and really makes them understand that it is okay to be different from every one. No two people are alike and that it is very important for every woman to be aware of that because you cannot compare other people to yourself. Women get disrespected a lot more than men do because men and other women feel that any woman is less than them, which is not at all true. Maya Angelou put a perspective in our minds that shows that you cannot doubt other people and you just need to be confident within yourself to be successful and the best you can be.