Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou

Phenomenal Woman By Maya Angelou

About Maya Angelou: An acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou had a broad career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood’s first female black director, but became most famous as a writer, editor, essayist, playwright, and poet. As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. She was also an educator and served as the Reynolds professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University. By 1975, wrote Carol E. Neubauer in Southern Women Writers: The New Generation,Angelou was recognized “as a spokesperson for… all people who are committed to raising the moral standards of living in the United States.” She served on two presidential committees, for Gerald Ford in 1975 and for Jimmy Carter in 1977. In 2000, Angelou was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Bill Clinton. In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees before her death.

Angelou’s most famous work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), deals with her early years in Long Beach, St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas, where she lived with her brother and paternal grandmother. In one of its most evocative (and controversial) moments, Angelou describes how she was first cuddled then raped by her mother’s boyfriend when she was just seven years old. When the man was murdered by her uncles for his crime, Angelou felt responsible, and stopped talking. Angelou remained mute for five years, but developed a love for language. She read Black authors like Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar, as well as canonical works by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Allan Poe. When Angelou was twelve and a half, Mrs. Flowers, an educated African American woman, finally got her to speak again. Mrs. Flowers, as Angelou recalled in her children’s book Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship (1986), emphasized the importance of the spoken word, explained the nature of and importance of education, and instilled in her a love of poetry. Angelou graduated at the top of her eighth-grade class.

Angelou attended George Washington High School in San Francisco and took lessons in dance and drama on a scholarship at the California Labor School. When Angelou, just seventeen, graduated from high school and gave birth to a son, Guy, she began to work as the first African American and first female street car conductor in San Francisco. As she explained in Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry like Christmas (1976), the third of her autobiographies, she also “worked as a shake dancer in night clubs, fry cook in hamburger joints, dinner cook in a Creole restaurant and once had a job in a mechanic’s shop, taking the paint off cars with my hands.” Angelou married a white ex-sailor, Tosh Angelos, in 1950. After they separated, Angelou continued her study of dance in New York City, returning to San Francisco to sing in the Purple Onion cabaret and garnering the attention of talent scouts. From 1954 to 1955, she was a member of the cast of a touring production of Porgy and Bess. During the late 1950s, Angelou sang in West Coast and Hawaiian nightclubs, before returning to New York to continue her stage career.

Angelou joined the Harlem Writers Guild in the late 1950s and met James Baldwin and other important writers. It was during this time that Angelou had the opportunity to hear Dr. Martin Luther King speak. Inspired by his message, she decided to become a part of the struggle for civil rights. She was offered a position as the northern coordinator for Dr. King’s SCLC. Following her work for Dr. King, Angelou moved to Cairo with her son, and, in 1962, to Ghana in West Africa. She worked as a freelance writer and was a feature editor at the African Review. When Angelou returned to the United States in the mid-1960s, she was encouraged by author James Baldwin and Robert Loomis, an editor at Random House, to write an autobiography. Initially, Angelou declined the offers, but eventually changed her mind and wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. The book chronicles Angelou’s childhood and ends with the birth of her son. It won immediate success and was nominated for a National Book Award.

Here is an analysis of Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman, which defies the stereotypes women are often faced with today.  The poem appeared in Angelou’s third volume of poetry, And Still I Rise, which was first published in 1978.  In Phenomenal Woman, Angelou celebrates her body and the uniqueness that separates her from other women. Angelou, who died at the age of 86 in 2014, is one of the most celebrated poets and memoirists in American literature.  Her first memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was the first U.S. bestseller ever written by an African American woman, and it catapulted Angelou into instant fame in the literary world.  The majority of her work deals with both the racism and sexism she experienced as an African American woman.

 Phenomenal Woman is a lyrical poem that sends out an important message to the world of convention and stereotype: empowerment comes from being confident in your own female skin, no matter if you are not seen as cute or fashionable by the masses.

Maya Angelou published this poem in 1978 when it appeared in And Still I Rise, a collection of powerful poems that set many an oppressed woman free. Since then, the poem has been adapted and used by associations and groups world-wide involved in protest and political issues around inequality.

'The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.'

Phenomenal Woman is a direct and passionate poem no doubt, you can feel the speaker's need to lay things out just as they are, yet it also contains the seed of self-knowing, of self-confidence.

'A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim.'

And it does convey the idea that no matter the pressures of society to conform and be who others want you to be, inner self-belief is the phenomenal bit. Once this is accepted, you will be a happier and more complete person, a phenomenon.

'I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. 
You've got to go out and kick ass.'

In short, this poem boasts that a woman is more than the sum of her parts, much more. She is enigmatic, magnetic and is also capable of defining her own beauty.

Phenomenal Woman Summary

The first-person speaker of the poem (click here to read the poem), presumably Angelou, is describing the allure she has as a woman.  Throughout each stanza, Angelou exposes the attributes she possesses that deem her irresistible to others, particularly to those of the opposite sex, despite the fact that she does not fit into society’s definition of what makes a woman beautiful.  The first stanza includes the physical traits that make her stand out, from her hips to her smile.  As the poem continues, Angelou extols the inner mystery that makes her so attractive to the men around her.  At the end of the work, she describes the confidence and pride she has in herself, which radiates from her. In essence, this is Angelou’s anthem about her pride in being a woman.

Angelou breaks her poem into five stanzas.  While there is some evidence of rhyme, she mostly uses an unconventional rhyme scheme. She begins her poem with a couplet in the first two lines: “Pretty woman wonder where my secret lies/I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size.” While her use of rhyme is sporadic, Angelou does, however, repeatedly end her lines with words that end in “s.” This adds to the sultry, sensual tone of the poem, particularly when it is read aloud.

While Angelou does not utilize much figurative language in the poem, she effectively uses a metaphor when comparing the men swooning around her to bees around a hive of honey.

Just as bees are naturally drawn to that sweet substance, men are just as enchanted with Angelou, even though she defies all conventional beauty standards. “I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size,” she writes.  This comparison also highlights the primitive side to human sexuality.  The bees have an innate, uncontrollable desire to be near the honey; likewise, the men cannot help but flock towards Angelou.

Angelou relies heavily on repetition throughout her poem, ending the majority of her stanzas with “That’s me.”  In addition, the phrase “phenomenal woman” is repeated throughout the course of the poem, once again emphasizing Angelou’s unconventional beauty and appeal to the opposite sex.

Structurally, Angelou breaks her poem into four major stanzas, with two smaller, yet still significant stanzas in between.

In the first stanza, Angelou bluntly tells her reader that other women wonder what she has that they are missing, even though she lacks the traits that society most often judges to be beautiful; she intuits that  the other women are jealous of Angelou.  She writes, “They think I’m telling lies.”  She continues on, telling the reader her appeal lies in her arms, hips, and lips.

Her constant use of the word ‘phenomenal’ is twofold.  One most often defines the word as meaning extraordinary and impressive, and Angelou is certainly reveling in being an extraordinary and impressive woman; however, the word phenomenal is also synonymous with unbelievable.  By consciously choosing to call herself phenomenal, Angelou seems almost incredulous that she is lucky enough to be a woman.

In her second stanza, Angelou moves away from discussing women and begins to discuss the spell she seems to have over the men she encounters.

Her attractiveness goes beyond the physical: it is something innate inside her that makes her so irresistible to men.  While women can change the way they look, Angelou insinuates that they will never be able to replicate what she naturally possesses inside herself.

This idea continues into the third stanza, where Angelou discusses the fact that even men cannot pinpoint what it is about her that is so irresistible.

Her answer to them is that she’s a woman. She is saying, “Unbelievably, I’m a woman.  I’m an extraordinary, amazing woman. That’s who I am.”

In the last lines of the poem, Angelou speaks directly to her reader, after explaining her appeal to her audience.

Angelou explains that she does not need to draw attention to herself; the attention is naturally given to her because she is a woman.  Her last line, set apart in its own stanza, simply says, “That’s me.”  Because she is a woman—a phenomenal woman—she has the confidence and pride to walk with her head held high.

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

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.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

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.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Analysis Of Phenomenal Woman Stanza By Stanza

Stanza 1

It's interesting to note that the people this phenomenal woman wants to address initially are pretty women. The reason why is soon revealed - the speaker is plain looking herself, she's not cute or slender or fashionable in shape, but inside she knows she has those pretty women asking questions that are difficult to answer.

Already the speaker has a secret and although she can't reveal all, she can tell the pretty ones about her own physical attributes. It's to do with the reach, span, stride and curl - what is within her grasp, the full extent of her womanhood, the decisive way she gets about, the allure of her smile.

The pretty ones can't quite believe what they hear but make no mistake, this is the speaker's one and only truth.

Stanza 2

Next up are the men who are instinctively drawn to the phenomenal woman, some even start to worship her, or else cannot sustain a standing position so overcome are they. There's a sort of spell cast over these males who act as honey bees around the hive.

There is chemistry at work here and the reason why the men are all a buzz? It's the fire, flash, swing and joy - the passionate heat as she looks at them, the gleaming white set behind the smile, the sensuality and sexuality, the enthusiasm of the dance.

Despite not being what society thinks she should be - ideally beautiful - the phenomenal woman can attract the opposite sex to her simply by entering a room.

Further Analysis

Stanza 3

Concentrating on the male of the species again, the speaker perceives that even they can't put their finger on just why they're so attracted by this phenomenal woman.

They can ogle all they want, but this female's secret is hidden inside, it ain't visible on the exterior. Or is it? It's in the arch, sun, ride and grace - the way the spine is strong yet beautifully shaped, the power of a smile, life-affirming, the way her bosom is carried, comfortably, the smooth ease with which she manages life.

Could it be the men are looking for something that cannot be identified with the senses? Could this be the phenomenal woman's spirit, her essence, her inner being?

Stanza 4

In a direct appeal to the reader, the speaker lays it on the line and attempts to clarify all that has gone on in the previous three stanzas. She can hold her head high because of what she is: proud of being an individual without the need to kowtow to society and its false stereotypes, its idea of what a beautiful female should like and aspire to be.

It's the click, bend, palm and need - the way she is full of energy and verve, the way she lets her hair fall naturally, her open and honest approach to life, the way her compassionate nature is a necessary thing.

The phenomenal woman's humility and respect for other's space, her dignity and inner strength mean she doesn't have to advertise her qualities or be brash and popular. No. Her essence, her well being, goes far deeper.

More Analysis Of Phenomenal Woman With Literary Devices

Phenomenal Woman is a loose rhyming lyrical poem, which strictly speaking means this is not a free verse poem. There are four stanzas.

Rhyme

If you read it carefully, the rhymes definitely make a difference to the overall sound and feel of the poem, especially in the first six or seven lines of each stanza. And at the end of each.

For example, just note the full end rhymes:

·         lies/size/lies and hips/lips

·         please/knees/bees

·         much/touch and me/mystery/see plus smile/style

·         bowed/loud/proud and hair/care

In addition, each stanza has the perfect rhyme of woman/woman and the full rhyme Phenomenally/That's me.

Rhythm and Meter

There is a varied meter (metre in UK) in this poem, a mix of trochee and iamb with anapaest. The underlying beat in some lines is iambic, the well known da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM beat, the most common in English poetry. For example:

·         But when I start to tell them/They think I'm telling lies.

And others have trochaic followed by iambic:

·         When you see me passing,/It ought to make you proud.

Still others are iambic preceding anapaestic:

·         The bend of my hair,/the palm of my hand,/The need for my care.

This variable rhythm, together with contrasting short and long vowels, make this a particularly interesting poem to read out loud and to listen to.

Repetition

Perhaps the most striking device Angelou uses is to repeat a pattern, found in each stanza, which helps reinforce the message and brings familiarity for the reader, much like with the lyrics of a song.

So, for example:

·         the simple short line, I say, connects the first part of each stanza with the second and focuses all the energy on the speaker, bringing the poem almost to a complete halt midway. You know this is the ego speaking, making everyone aware of the attributes on show.

·         And immediately following this is the repeated mantra-like four line list of physical traits that go to make up the total woman. It's....

·         The final four lines also drive home the idea that this woman is special, unbelievable and her presence cannot be denied. The poem becomes an anthem for the personal 'me'.

Metaphor

In the second stanza, the men who fall on their knees then swarm in the manner of honey bees at the hive. So the woman is seen as a sort of Queen bee, or she is the sweetness the bees need, the males busy seeking her attention.