Slide 1: Anne
We researched Maya Angelou, a female African American poet who grew up in the 1930’s in
Missouri. She later became an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. In doing
this project, we discovered just how much Angelou’s poetry reflects her experiences and pain as
a young woman growing up in a racist community.
Slide 2: Anne
In researching Maya Angelou’s style, we found that:
-She doesn’t rely on regular stanza structure
-She Uses mostly choppy and run-on sentences.
-Most of her poems are more stream of consciousness than structured
-She alternates between stating, questioning and describing
-The last lines of verses often give closure while at the same time ‘leaving the reader hanging”
-Certain poems use a lot of line-to-line repetition and parallel structure
-some of her poems rhyme, however the majority do not
- uses mostly second person tense but sometimes switches the tense in the middle of the poem
-uses onomatopoeia quite frequently, such as: "Whoppa, Whoppa,” and "Chugga, Chugga,”
Slide 3: Kara
Some Major Commonalities in Angelou’s poems were:
• Female anatomy and themes that involved sexuality
• Reminiscing about past loves and times
• Difficulties of dealing with men
• Mentions “workin’ in the factory”
• Racism and African American Empowerment
One of the poems that best portrays Angelou’s attitude towards Racism and Equality is “My Guilt”
which I will read for you now:
MY GUILT
My guilt is "slavery's chains," too long
the clang of iron falls down the years.
This brother's sold, this sister's gone,
is bitter wax, lining my ears.
My guilt made music with the tears.
My crime is "heroes, dead and gone,"
dead Vesey, Turner, Gabriel,
dead Malcolm, Marcus, Martin King.
They fought too hard, they loved too well.
My crime is I'm alive to tell.
My sin is "hanging from a tree,"
I do not scream, it makes me proud.
I take to dying like a man.
I do it to impress the crowd.
My sin lies in not screaming loud.
Slide 4: Steph
Much of Maya Angelou’s writing was greatly influenced by her Gender, Life
Experiences, and Culture. Here is some biographical information that we
discovered about her:
– At age 7 she was molested by her mother’s boyfriend; only told her
brother
– Later - she found out an uncle killed her mother’s boyfriend and she
felt it was her fault; went silent for 5 years
– In high school she was exposed to progressive ideals that caused
her later political activism
– Joined the Harlem Writers Guild and worked with other young
writers to write about her views on the civil rights movement
– She worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr., he gave her the job
of Northern Coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference
Slide 5: Kara
We were able to find many important details about Angelou’s life using I Know
Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first part of her autobiography which she wrote in
1969. In this memoir she made numerous comments about her life as a young
black female living in the South in the 1930’s. Around the time she wrote this
book, she was also writing poetry which expressed these same feelings.
Slide 6: Steph
Here are some examples of how Angelou’s experience with the struggle for racial
equality affected her poetry:
My crime is "heroes, dead and gone,“
dead Vesey, Turner, Gabriel,
dead Malcolm, Marcus, Martin King.
-that’s from the poem “My Guilt”
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
-that’s from the poem “Human Family”
One of our favorite poems, “I know why the Caged Bird Sings”
symbolically demonstrated Maya’s view on the physical and mental
enslavement of African Americans:
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Slides 7 and 8: Anne
In order to better understand Angelou’s poetry, we looked at some professional critics’
viewpoints:
“strong note of self-affirmation”
-Publishers Weekly
“at times to chatty and anecdotal”
-Janet Boyarin Blundell
“model of conduct for people”
-Adam David Miller
“portrays the strong Black American woman”
-Hilary Bailey
“relies often on rhythm for success”
-Calendaria Silva
“venomous hostility to one and all of the white race”
-Daisy Aldan
“musical, rhythmical, enchanting”
-Mary Silva Cosgrave
“sexual nuances”
-R. B. Stepto
Slide 9: Kara
We agree with the critics that:
•
•
•
•
Self-confidence and affirmation is an important part of many of her poems
She sometimes goes off on a whim and quite wordy and anecdotal
Focuses on strong women overcoming their emotional and physical struggles, especially
African Americans, and serves as a role model for them
Most of her poems and musical and lyrical, rather than following a strict rhyme scheme
Slide 10: Steph
We disagree with the critics that:
•
The best poems of hers that we read did not seem to rely on rhythm…most did not have
a steady rhythm or continuous rhyming
•
Although Maya did exhibit some bitterness toward whites, it did not seem “venomous”
Slide 11: Anne
PHENOMENAL WOMAN
by Maya Angelou
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion 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 steps
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 of 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.