Term Paper on "Poetry Maya Angelou"

Term Paper 10 pages (3209 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

poetry / Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's Celebration of Womanhood and Blackness in Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou's short collection of poetry, entitled Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women, is, as the subtitle indicates, a celebration of womanhood. Angelou's poetry breathes forth the same enthusiasm for the self and the same elation that is present in the works of the American national poet, Walt Whitman. Just as Whitman sings the national self as well as the transcendent self in all its possible forms, Angelou sings her pride of being an Afro- American woman. Her poetry has obvious social and feminist implications, but at the same time, a transcendent meaning and a universal message are inherent in the poems. Like Whitman before her, Angelou professes a true belief in the value of the self per se, safeguarding at the same time the pride of being an Afro-American woman. Some of the poems are true hymns dedicated to the black audience and especially to the Afro- American women, with the purpose of awakening their pride. Thus, Angelou's Phenomenal Woman starts off from autobiographical details and personal description, but the meanings are obviously extended to the extolment of the self in general, no matter its origin or its particular way of being.

Thus, in the poem that opens the short collection and that also gives its title, Phenomenal Woman, Angelou describes an extraordinary female character, a "phenomenal woman," who instantly attracts the eyes and the attention of everyone in the room without having the classical beauty of a model. The woman portrayed in the poem is obviously the poet herself, who is indeed a striking figure with an unusual charm in real life as well. The incremental repetitions in the text of the refrain "I'm a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That's me." (Angelou, 3) suggests that, although the author gives a personal description in the text, the poem is obviously a celebration of womanhood. The "phenomenal woman" is not just Angelou herself, but every other black woman with her particular way of being. It has to be noted thus that the first line of the refrain emphasizes first of all the simple affirmation "I am a woman" and only then inserts the epithet "phenomenal." It is evident therefore that Angelou's poem begins in autobiography, but ends up in a general praise of women. The poem is dedicated thus to womanhood, and in a more restricted sense to the black woman that needs to learn how to love and appreciate her own value. The poem imprints a certain, recognizable rhythm from the beginning, through a series of enumerations and through the reiteration of the epithet "phenomenal" that Angelou obviously confers on women in general. It is the jubilation of the woman in general, of her mystery and unsettling beauty that come not from good physical proportions or from prettiness, but from the self that irradiates through every detail of appearance and behavior. Women are phenomenal gratuitously, just because they are themselves. Also, the text attempts an explanation of the imposing charm of all the women, implying that self-love and self-confidence are the secret of this mysterious beauty. Angelou urges thus women to love themselves in every detail and to become aware of their own value.

The structure of the poem is also very telling: the poet introduces herself as a magnificent woman that instantly paralyzes everyone in the room with her charm. The trick that the author uses is to induce the expectations of a logical explanation of her own beauty. Instead of giving a particular reason however, she proceeds to enumerate every part of her self without giving an actual description of herself. The effect of the woman's beauty is thus contained in every part of her being, as the enumerations suggest. The 'phenomenal' comes thus from every part of her being: "the reach of...arms," the span of...hips," "the stride of...step," "the curl of...lips," "the flash of... teeth," "the swing in...waist, "the joy in my feet" (Angelou, 5) Surprisingly, these enumerations indicate only the different parts of the woman's body, without insisting on any particular or outstanding characteristics. Thus, it becomes obvious that these are in fact common features and that the poet merely speaks about herself as a common woman. The common becomes outstanding in Angelou's poetry, emphasizing the natural perfection of the woman. This perfection comes, as the author remarks, from the "inner mystery" of every woman. This mystery is the very gist of womanhood, the paragon of beauty seen in the common features of a female:

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."(Angelou, 5)

Angelou's praise of the common black woman is obviously meant to transform the past experience of oppression, and to urge the renaissance of the self. Phenomenal Woman is thus more than a statement or the expression of a belief; it is the writer's attempt to goad the awakening of pride and self-esteem among her own people. More than a poet, Angelou can be considered a teacher who tries to give an example to the other black people through her own attitude and pride: "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."(Angelou, 5) as literary critic Lyman Hagen observes in one of his studies of Angelou's poetry, the poem asserts the qualities of a particular woman, who can be easily identified as the writer herself, but it also suggests that these same qualities belong to all the women in general:

Sometimes Angelou uses contrasting pairs in her poetry. For example, in Phenomenal Woman, considered a personal theme-poem, she asserts the special qualities of a particular woman. The woman described is easily matched to the author herself. Angelou is an imposing woman -- at least six feet tall. She has a strong personality and a compelling presence as defined in the poem. One can accept the autobiographical details in this poem or extend the reading to infer that all women have qualities that attract attention."(Hagen, 127) Again in the manner of Walt Whitman, Angelou endeavors to show the value of the self, and thus to awaken the consciousness of her people and help them overcome the past oppression.

In the second poem of the collection, Still I Rise, Angelou makes a thematic transition towards a direct approach of the racial subject. The main contention of this text is thus that the spirit of the black people is indomitable despite the history of discrimination and subjugation. The title of the poem is once more a refrain of the poem. "Still I Rise" obviously hints at the many centuries of slavery that have not succeeded, after all, in breaking the spirit of the Afro- Americans. The poem begins with an open deconstruction of the black history: Angelou implies that the oppression of the people of color has been based upon "bitter, twisted lies" and she thus engages in a dispute against the historical perspective: "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies, / You may trod me in the very dirt / but still, like dust, I'll rise." (Angelou, 7) Although the black people have been so long oppressed and their selves so often annihilated, they remain what they have always been. Subjugation and hate cannot destroy the strong sprit of the race. The metaphor that Angelou uses in the opening stanza creates a very compelling image: the spirit of the black people rises above the oppression, just as the dust is able to rise from the road, although it has been trodden up by the people. The poem speaks thus of the inner strength of the spirit to be regenerated in spite of the attempts made to destroy it. The writer thus implies that hatred and discrimination will not bring down the consciousness of Afro- Americans: "You may shoot me with your words, / You may cut me with your eyes, / You may kill me with your hatefulness, / but still, like air, I'll rise." (Angelou, 7) the "weapons" that Angelou describes here indicate that she denounces the crimes committed by the white people against the black people as a race.

The poem is created in the form of a direct dialogue, made up of statements and questions, between the writer and the white people. Again, Angelou seems to speak only for herself, as the repetitive "Still I rise" indicates. However, it is plain that she speaks in the name of her people at the same time. For example, when she rhetorically asks whether the others would like to see her "broken" and with "lowered eyes," in an attitude of despondency and submission, it is obvious that she alludes to the sufferance of the entire black race under… READ MORE

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