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Renee Cook

Ferrando

English

26 February 2018

How “Phenomenal Woman” Inspires Confidence

For thousands of years humans have limited themselves and others because of privileges.

Those born in less fortunate circumstances find it difficult to rise above their status at birth.

Although it is rare, sometimes a determined soul finds it within themselves to push forward.

These people hardly forget where they came from, and it gives them a perspective others will

never have. Growing up as a black female in a lower class family and facing many challenges

inspired Maya Angelou to not only survive, but thrive, and these experiences served as

inspiration to her poetry and other works. (“Maya Angelou”)

Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. As a black female in a

lower class family, she was born with every disadvantage. She lived in the segregated south

during the Great Depression. All of this was only made worse by the rape that left her silent for

years. Maya Angelou grew up in a life that many people cannot even imagine imagine. So many

others would have taken this pain and accepted it as who they are, but Angelou used the pain to

grow and thrive in a world that put everything against her.

Because of her rise from poverty to professional, Angelou is “truly a Renaissance

woman”(“Maya Angelou” 1). Her many impressive accomplishments and professions add up to

more than many even think possible. She is an accomplished “dancer, composer, poet, historian,

author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, and radio host in addition to film producer,

screenwriter, and director”(“Maya Angelou” 1). One can see that this remarkable woman fought
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everything to become a very successful professional. In many of her writings there is a theme of

self-love and confidence, which stems from her victory over her pain and disadvantage. This

expression of inner strength can be seen clearly in Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman.”

This poem carries many themes of confidence, personal strength, and inner beauty. In the

beginning of each stanza, Angelou describes different situations that display her beauty. Angelou

speaks of men who fall for her, and women who want to be her. In the first stanza she expresses

that she is not traditionally attractive, but people are entranced by her strength and beauty. The

author goes on to describe all the reasons behind her mysterious beauty. Angelou gives many

reasons like “It’s in the reach of my arms,/The span of my hips,/The stride of my step,/The curl

of my lips” (Angelou 1). Throughout the poem many of these different reasons are stated and

“These qualities make her a phenomenal woman” ("Overview: 'Phenomenal Woman'." 1)These

explanations are present to show that her beauty does not come from any physical attractiveness

or something tangible. Angelou’s confidence is what makes her attractive and beautiful.

Psychologically, humans are drawn to people with high self worth, and this concept is seen in

“Phenomenal Woman.”

To really look at Maya Angelou's poems, you have to pay attention to her childhood. Her

past is displayed to show contrast from where she started, to where she is. She took her life from

hopeless, to successful and thriving. She knows what she accomplished, and knows that she is

allowed to be proud of herself. This is splashed all over her writings. In this poem, “Phenomenal

Woman,” she knows how much she has accomplished, and she knows her worth as a woman.

Throughout the poem Angelou makes sure the reasons why she is beautiful are made known.

These are unique to her and make her special, and she knows it is her right to love herself for it.
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The poetic devices in this poem add important ideas and emphasis on important themes.

She uses repetition to stress the main point of being a “phenomenal Woman”. At the end of every

stanza, angelou says that “I’m a woman/Phenomenally./Phenomenal woman,/That’s

me”(Angelou 10-13, 26-29, 42-45, 57-60). This repetition emphasizes a display of her

confidence. Another poetic device she uses is rhythm. Rhythm makes the poem flow, almost as a

display of her grace and eloquence. The smooth flow of her writing captures an idea in the poem

when “She states that she has no need to draw attention to herself by shouting or jumping or

speaking loudly” ("Overview: 'Phenomenal Woman'."). Instead of people paying attention to her

because she asked for it, her virtues and grace make people want to pay attention to her.

She uses imagery to describe the parts of her that are beautiful, and why they are all so

important. Angelou speaks of the swing of her hips and the curve of her smile. She talks about

the appeal of how she walks and the way she speaks. Angelou describes her walk and the way

she enters a room. These all paint a mental picture of her qualities and grace. She also uses

imagery to describe how people react to her presence. Men fall at her feet and women wonder

how she manages to rapture everyone’s attention. All of these descriptions highlight her

confidence and her self-worth.

In poetry, many of the words and lines written have meaning because of what the author has

seen or been through. Reading this poem, with the poets perspective in mind, the message is

empowering and strong. A important theme to take away from this poem is that people can

achieve so much no matter how desperate or hopeless their situation seems. Someone is never

limited, and they are allowed to love themselves and be proud. The hand a person is dealt does

not define them, what they do with the cards is what shows their worth.
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Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. “Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry

Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48985/phenomenal-woman.

"Maya Angelou." Women Filmmakers & Their Films, Gale, 1998. Biography in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1664000008/BIC1?u=lap52ncs&xid=c02ead91.

Accessed 9 Feb. 2018.

"Overview: 'Phenomenal Woman'." Poetry for Students, edited by Sara Constantakis,

vol. 42, Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1430007719/LitRC?

u=lap52ncs&sid=LitRC&xid=b2b7e342. Accessed 9 Feb. 2018