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Brief Notes of Maya Angelou’s Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou’s poem Phenomenal Woman is a sixty lined poem. In this poem, the

narrator writes of how women who are pretty wonder about the narrator’s life and her secrets.

She then states that she is not cute and not built to suit to wear dresses designed to that of any

model’s fashion size and whenever she begins to state this truth other women state that that

she was telling lies. She then states that her arms, hips, walk, and the curls of her lips are just

like any other woman’s. Then she says that she is like any other woman, but a phenomenal

woman and that was what made her.

The narrator then furthermore tells that whenever she walks into a room, she does it in

a cool manner, yet the men or those who stand nearby fall on their knees, and they gather

around her as bees. She then says those men behaved as such to her since they saw fire in her

eyes and brightness in her teeth, they also loved to look at her feet. This is all so since she

was a phenomenal woman.

She then makes a statement that men themselves as women have wondered what

makes her more attractive in their eyes, the men themselves try so hard on trying to solve her

inner mystery. She then states that she has no mystery and even men as the women could not

believe her. She then says that it may be her back, her joyful smile, her body, or her style and

she again says that this is all because she is a phenomenal woman.

In the end, she says that by now all would have understood that this was the reason

why her head does not bow down and she doesn’t need to shout, jump, or talk so loudly to

gain any attention. She finally says to all the women that when she passes in front of them it

must make them proud. She then again says that everything about her is in the clicks of her

heels, the bend of her hair, the palm of her hands, and the need for her care by others. This

was the reason that made her a phenomenal woman.

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Brief Notes on She by Alice Walker

She is a poem written by Alice Walker, in this poem, Alice celebrates Gloria Steinem

and she also talks about the nature of women in general. Alice begins the poem by writing

that the birth of a female child is like that of the first bloom of the snapdragon flower that

blooms during Spring. A woman is a person who is funny and yet would tell the most

complex joke.

She also surprises by knowing and telling the difference between turnip and collard

greens, and the differences between biscuits and scones. She also understands the opposite

gender so well that she knows where to take them to dance. She also knows where food is

and of the decors of hotels which are not to be missed.

Alice then states that women are saintly and also know the right way to dress and to

dress in not proper ways too. She also knows where to take the males shopping, for she

knows where the best clothes could be bought at lower rates. She is one who also spreads

warmth around homes with her scents. She also brings happiness through the music she

creates through her presence which is like magic and spreads joy.

She always speaks truly from her heart, and she is the one who feels appropriate for

each event in life be it a wedding, funeral, or even a divorce of all the people she comes

across in her life this is all so due to the courage she possesses in herself and so she speaks

whatever is in her mind without any second thoughts.

She also encourages both the young and old alike, and she will always be there to

comfort the ones who are in prison or jail. She is one whom others can keep their secrets as

secrets and comes without second thoughts to one’s aide since she has a heart that is very

open and truly loves with it. She can also initiate activism; hence all these make a female

gender as either an opposite gender’s sister, teacher, or friend.

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Alice Walker also talks about Gloria Steinem who was born seventy five years ago

while this poem was written. Alice says that Gloria was such a sister, teacher, and friend to

her and that Gloria was a glory to her parents as well and still was a radiant person even

today. Through this poem, Alice wishes Gloria a happy birthday and also mentions her to be

as beloved and that her birthday is a grand feast of her noble spirit. Alice then thanks Gloria

for her beauty and her being and ends the poem by writing Namaste.

Brief Notes on Kamala Das’s The Dance of Eunuchs

Kamala Das’s poem The Dance of Eunuchs is a twenty lined poem. Kamala in this

poem writes about the life of Eunuchs with an incident she came across one day. She begins

the poem by writing about the conditions of that specific day which was very hot, and

eunuchs came to dance. The eunuchs wore wide skirts which went around their bodies. They

had cymbals and had worn jingling anklets which jingled to their moves. They also had

gulmohurs on their long braids and jasmines in their hair which flew through the air. The

eunuchs had dark eyes and they were dancing, they also had green coloured tattoos on their

cheeks. Some of the eunuchs were dark while some were fair, they had harsh voices and they

sang melancholic songs which had lyrics on lovers dying and of children unborn.

Some of the eunuchs beat drums and some beat their bodies. Kamala still describes

the eunuchs as being so thin and dry in their limbs, while some looked like half burnt logs

from funeral pyres or as in, they were facing a drought. They were all feeling to be rotten

within themselves, all their looks even made the crows which sat on trees looked silently at

the eunuchs from above. Even small children looked at them in still motions with their eyes

wide open. Kamala ends the poem by writing that all were watching the eunuchs, and

suddenly thunder came in followed by lightning, and a small amount of rain which had

previously spread its smell which paralleled along with the smell of the urine of lizards and

mice.
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Brief Notes on Perfect Woman by William Wordsworth

The poem Perfect Woman or She Was a Phantom of Delight is written by William

Wordsworth and it is a thirty lined poem. In this poem, Wordsworth describes the nature of a

perfect woman as per his view. He begins by stating that the perfect woman he saw was an

imaginary delight in his dream and if it all she would be a reality upon his awakened vision

then it would be the loveliest thing for him to be witnessing that moment and it thus would be

so ornamental.

Wordsworth then explains the looks of his vision of the perfect woman by stating she

to have her eyes as stars and dusky hair and also to have a shape that would be fit for dancing

and a smile which spreads happiness which could also at times haunt.

Wordsworth then breaks from the imaginative expectations into reality where he

states that he saw her in a nearer view. She then looked like both a spirit and a human too.

She though having pains she would be freer while being with others. She also would be

purely innocent and so she would be not good to the daily life of the humans for she would

have to undergo praise and blame; love, kisses, and tears, and had to smile as if nothing ever

happened.

Wordsworth then states that the perfect woman to have even a breath which would be

thoughtful since she is a traveller between life and death. The perfect woman, Wordsworth

would have the utmost patience, foresight, strength and skill since a perfect woman is a nobly

planned who would warn or caution, comfort and command. Wordsworth finally states that

the perfect woman that he thinks of yet a bright spirit with something like that of an angelic

light around her.

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Brief Notes on Swami Vivekananda’s Ideals of Womanhood

Swami Vivekananda, in this essay, states about the ideals of womanhood. He begins

by saying that previously men and women were priests and would together offer sacrifices.

The same system was also followed in ancient Rome and Greece, but a separate priest class

was established and women in all these nations stepped back. Vivekananda then states that it

was in the Assyrian race where girls had no voice and they had no rights after they got

married. The Persians then took this idea from Babylonian and it was carried around to Rome

and Greece.

The other cause was due to the changes brought in the system of marriage. Since

earlier it was matriarchal in which mothers were in the centre. This led to the system where

five or six brothers often married one wife. In the next period, the monks from Buddhism

taught that only the monks could reach heaven. This was not so in the West for there the

development of women was brought in by men like John Stuart Mill and by the revolutionary

French philosophers. He then explains the Mohammedan women who were different from

their Westerners in their social and intellectual development.

Vivekananda then states that in India women have enjoyed property rights for

thousands of years and mothers are the centre of the family. Mothers are representatives of

God. Vivekananda then states that it was a female sage who had first found the unity of God,

and laid this down in one of the first hymns of the Vedas. Swami Vivekananda in the end

states that he and every good Hindoo (Hindu) believe, that mothers are pure and holy, and he

states that this is the secret of the Indian race.