Introduction
In the famous poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou the author
demonstrates the living principles of a strong woman who is confident about herself
and about her success in life. Angelou emphasizes the significance of women’s selfidentity and ability to understand that they have equal rights with men, and
consequently, equal prospects in life, making family or career. It is evident that the
author, as well as the heroine of her poem, is a strong, or phenomenal, woman herself
and this allows her to say what she says in her poem not from other people’s
experiences but from the life she lived and experiences she had growing from a little
African American girl to one of the most famous writers, poets and social activists of
today.
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Discussion
The contrast of sexes is also present in the poem by Maya Angelou, as the author
wants to demonstrate that belonging to females does not mean anything negative for a
person and can even turn out to be an advantage in some cases if only the person
knows what she wants and what she strives for. Angelou, who is considered to be the
embodiment of the phenomenal woman described in her poem, is a strong and
confident woman and she proves in the following lines that express one of the main
ideas of her poem – the equality and, sometimes, even superiority of women:
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
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(Angelou, 2000)
The poem is clear manifestation of Maya Angelou’s view of life which is based on her
own experiences and the things she managed to achieve directed by this very view of
life. The heroine of the poem states from the beginning that she is not the role model
for other women in respect of beauty or nice figure but her phenomenon lies in more
important things such as inner strength and confidence that allows to reach much more
than physical perfection. It is not important for the author what others think or say, her
heroine is proud of being a woman which is phenomenal in the very definition of the
word:
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
(Angelou, 2000)
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The character of the phenomenal woman, whose prototype may be Maya Angelou
herself, can be applied to any other woman living on the Earth, as far as the ideas
expressed in the poem do not demand any special knowledge to understand them and
any special skills from women to implement them in practice. The only thing needed,
according to Angelou, is the confidence and absence of fear to show it to the
surrounding world. This point of view was also reflected by literary critics that studied
the poetry by Angelou. For example, Stepto singles out the prefect imagery of the
poem “Phenomenal Woman” that allows the wide circle of readers to understand the
main idea of this work and apply to their own personal experiences. “Angelou uses
imagery to give the reader a sense of what the persona looks like. She then lists
characteristics to help further the reader’s sense of the persona.” (Stepto, 313) The
style in which the poem is written is rather literary but it is at the same time
understandable for an average reader and proves the point that the directed audience is
every ordinary woman who wants to bring change in her life or needs support in some
difficult moments.
As long as the heritage of Maya Angelou is African American, she realizes quite well
all the problems that are faced by women on the whole and black women in particular,
the poem under consideration can also be considered as a protest against racial
discrimination. Angelou experienced the most violence aspects of such discrimination
and this made her a stronger personality. She expressed this in “Phenomenal Woman”
and thus gave all women a sign that they are not destined to stay at home and obey in
the society that is considered to be created by men and for men. The ideas expressed
by Angelou in her poem can be applied to any other woman who either lives
according to these ideas or only tries to put them into practice. Angelou’s heroine
stresses the features that are common to every woman and differ from one woman to
another but she states that these points are the most important factors that
predetermine a woman’s being phenomenal not because she possesses certain
exclusive features, but just because she lives:
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.
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Another aspect of the poem that deserves much attention is the concept of dignity and
women’s self-esteem. This is one of the prominent concepts in all works by Angelou,
and as noticed by Stepto (319), it finds it bright reflection in the poem “Phenomenal
Woman” by Maya Angelou. The whole poem is built in a logical manner, when all
aspects of woman’s life are described and discussed and the last, third, verse serves as
the summary of the first two verses. In these lines, Angelou summarizes what she said
in the poem and states that she is proud of being a woman, a black woman. At the
same time she emphasizes that all other women must be proud of their being women,
and furthermore all men must be proud that they are allowed to watch such perfect
God’s creatures as women. Angelou’s heroine is a rather majestic woman but it does
not prevent her from noticing and recognizing that she is an ordinary woman:
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, 2000)
Conclusion
To make a logical conclusion, I would like to say that the poem “Phenomenal
Woman” by Maya Angelou is a rather skillful literary work that catches attention of
readers at once they take a look at it. It touches such significant topics as women
identity, their rights and success in this life. Certain feminist motives can be found in
the poem, as well as a simple attempt to give people hope and trust in themselves. The
main idea of the poem by Angelou is the dignity that every woman should possess or
struggle for in case she is deprived of it. The heroine of the poem is a rather strong,
confident and proud woman, as well as the author herself, and this allows her to state
that every other woman can be so successful if only she understands that she is
phenomenal irrespective of her appearance just because she is unique.
Works Cited
Angelou, M. Phenomenal Woman. Random House; 1 edition, 2000.
Gloria Mason Henderson, Bill Day, and Sandra Stevenson Waller. Study book is
Literature and Ourselves. 5th ed. Ed. New York: Longman, 2006.
Stepto, R.B. “The Phenomenal Woman and the Severed Daughter.” Parnassus: Poetry
in Review 8.1 (2006): 312-20.