Life often deals many cards. Sometimes they are manageable and others times they seem unbearable. Upon analyzing these “cards” dealt, we decide whether we are capable of taking them on, or if we crumble under pressure. Maya Angelou was an individual that used all her circumstances, whether good or bad, to her advantage which allowed her to excel in life. Because of her persistence, she is acknowledged as one of the greatest influences in African American literature.
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was born on April 4th, 1928 in St. Louis Missouri. Soon after, she was raised in Stamps Arkansas. Her childhood was very difficult. She faced challenges that affected her way of thinking and confidence. At age three, her parents split
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It was said that her brother was small in size but made up for it in his huge confidence and personality. He had a stuttering problem so he would call her “MyMy’ (short for my sister). While reading a book about the Maya Indians, he decided to lengthen her nickname by calling her Maya. Her uncle played the role of her father and made sure she was protected at all cost. At the age of seven, Angelou went to visit her mother in Chicago where she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The experience was so traumatic it changed her life for the next five …show more content…
In that time she definitely matured and was exposed to more in life. From reading the poem we see that the obstacles she battled with her looks and way of thinking in her younger years have vanished. She embraces her physical and mental features and in a way brags about how amazing they are. ADD ANOTHER SENTENCE. Upon analyzing Phenomenal Woman, we see the title speaks volumes. She uses the word “phenomenal” to emphasize just how amazing she is. In fact at the end of each stanza she reiterates the line “phenomenal woman” to stress its importance. She starts the poem by debunking the stereotypes of “society’s definition of beauty”. Even though she does not possess those attributes, an hour glass figure or jaw dropping beauty, she is still beautiful in her own way. So much so that those same “beautiful women” often wonder how she achieves that level of beauty. In the next two stanzas she explains that in spite of her not having that “societal beauty”, men still obsess over her. They even ponder over why their obsession exist since she’s not as gorgeous as other women. She tells them they want to be in her presence because of the way she carries herself. The mystery is in the way she walks and talks. If that is not enough, her attitude is enough to drive them
young, her parents divorced, leaving her brother and herself with her grandma in Stamps, Arkansas. Since Angelou was an African American during times of segregation, she received many racial remarks. When she was seven, she went to visit her mother for a few days. During that time, her mother's boyfriend raped her. Out of anger, her uncle killed the boyfriend.
Maya Angelou is one of the well-respected African-American women figures. Maya is a poet, actress, civil right activist, dancer, singer, writer, educator, and a director. Maya’s real name is Marguerite Johnson. Maya was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Maya’s parents divorced when she was three. She was sent to live with her brother and grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. She was very close to her brother Bailey and her brother named her Maya. When she lived in Arkansas, she experienced discrimination towards African-American. At the age of seven Maya was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. “She only told her brother,” but a few days later her uncle has murdered the man who assaulted her. She thought her words have killed
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
The poem begins by saying ‘I was a cottage maiden’. It is a simple beginning, talking in the past tense. She tells us she is lower class person.
In the second stanza, Piercy describes the girl as healthy, intelligent, and strong (7-8). Yet these positive equalities alone, could not keep people from criticizing her, so the girl feels inferior. “She went to and fro apologizing,” which demonstrates her collapse of confidence with the people she is surrounded with, who kept putting her down (10). She gives in to the hurtful things people say about her: “Everyone [kept] seeing a fat nose on thick legs” (11). The girl thus lets people push her in the direction of society’s standard of beauty, instead of affirming her own unique beauty.
The poem begins with the author describing this perfect woman. As she goes on to say in line one, "At twenty she was brilliant and adored." The soft choice of words Kay choose create an instant connection between the reader and the woman. We are instantly engrossed in this woman, and sure enough adore her as well. The poem continues to describe her social status. From "Phi Beta Kappa" in line three and "men whose interest was their sole reward" in line four, we are instantly drawn with an image of this girl. We can conclude that this woman is young, successful, beautiful woman that is popular amongst everybody. She is the apple of everyone's desire. The author creates this girl to be that of one of the most intelligent, attractive girls the author (as well as the reader) has ever seen. As the reader, we can tell that she is from a very affluent background. This is implied in the lines "She learned the cultured jargon of those bred To antique crystal and authentic pearls." From the almost archaic setting to the famous people mentioned, the time period this takes place can be seen as around the early 1900's. In the line "And when she might have thought, conversed instead" is ...
At a young age, Maya Angelou’s parents got divorced. After the divorce was final Maya and her older brother, Bailey, were sent away to live with their grandmother. Angelou’s not so perfect life started when she was a young girl. “When she was about three years old, their parents divorced and the children were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Angelou claims that her grandmother, whom she called ‘momma, had a deep-brooding love that hung over everything she touched’” (Burt). In the first chapter of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the book starts with Angelou talking about her parent's divorce. “Our parents decided to put an end to their calamitous marriage, and father shipped us home to his mothers” (Angelou 5). After living with her grandmother, or as Maya begins to call her “momma”, for 4 years Maya Angelou and her brother Bailey are sent back to St. Louis Missouri. In St Louis they lived with her mother and her boyfriend Mr.Freeman. Mr.Freeman makes a huge impact on young Maya’s life. When she was only 8-years-old he rapes her, after being raped Angelou becomes mute and will ...
Angelou, Maya, Paul Gauguin, and Linda Sunshine. "Phenomenal Women (Poem)." Phenomenal Woman. New York: Random House, 2000. N. pag. Print.
...sed society with religious overtones throughout the poem, as though religion and God are placing pressure on her. The is a very deep poem that can be taken in may ways depending on the readers stature yet one thing is certain; this poem speaks on Woman’s Identity.
This is just one line from this poem that is spiritual. This whole poem is about her trying to get rid of her vanity and forget about her worldly
We know her state of mind in the last year of her life i.e. Hughes’ betrayal and all. She realizes it with bitterness never experienced earlier, but the phenomenon of betrayal is sought to be hid on her part from her mother. She continued to write to her mother that she “has everything in life, I’ve ever wanted: a wonderful husband, two adorable children, a lovely home and my writing” (Plath, LH 458). This is the dialectic part of her poetry. As we have seen, the phenomenon that shows itself also keeps undiscovered some part of it. Man is what he is not; he
The poem "Phenomenal Woman" is a poetic poem that women can relate to. It is a celebration of womanhood and femininity It expresses the jealousy, difference, and attitude that women see towards each other and how mean they perceive them. Every stanza is filled with explanations on how a woman should be confident with the way she looks and reveals woman's attributes as a phenomenal woman. Angelou tries to show her confidence by stating the body parts that show that confidence and inner strength. This can be seen in every line of the poem.
In the second stanza, the poet says that women are the cause that make her write poems because of the stereotypes against them, which give her a strong desire to challenge. Therefore, she takes women’s stories and writes them in poetry. She describes herself as a “seamstress” and without the dresses of women, she would be a seamstress without work, but her friends give her their dresses (their stori...
Every line in the poem has an underlining meaning related to being phenomenal. Maya Angelou begins the poem with, “Pretty women wonder were my secret lies. / I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model size / But when I start to tell them, / They think I’m telling lies” (Line 1-4). The use of alliteration makes the reader’s interpretation of the poem have a deeper meaning. Angelou’s words interpret that a woman’s size, shape, and appearance does not contribute to the opinions people may have against them, but to how they think of themselves. Angelou allows the reader to develop an understanding that a person’s inner beauty tells a lot about a person and the confidence they possess within. She states, “It’s in the reach of my arms, / ...
Maya Angelou’s word choice in “Phenomenal Woman” is simple and dull, but it fits the poem perfectly once it is read. The words used in the poem are not powerful but it keeps you reading. It makes the readers a have different opinion on the poem. Also it makes the readers analyze what she is really trying to say. For example, in the poem Maya Angelou states “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me. They try so much, But they can’t touch, My inner mystery.” It is a little confusing on what she is trying to say because of her word choice and the way the sentences are connected, but reading furthermore into the stanza, it begins to become more understanding. Then too, If she had used a different word choice the poem would not have been so intriguing. For example, if she would have said “Men don’t really understand my personality”, instead of “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me.” then the readers would not have to put much attention into it and the theme would be completely different. Moreover, another example would be “ 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’’. She uses simple phrases like “fire in my eyes”, “flash of my teeth”, “swing in my waist”, etc. to show the phenomenal woman she is. The word choice that Maya Angelou portrays in this poem, makes woman realize that