Research Poems

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's 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 step,

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 in 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.

—Maya Angelou

MY ANALYSIS

This poem is based on trying to diminished stereotypes especially of black women. Throughout the poem she explains and justifies to be confident you have to embrace and love, what God has given you.  This poem is for women or people that feel oppressed and lost in their identity, in a world that is not in a favor. The reason why this poems is such an influence to me is because it teaches me, as a black female to embrace what God has given to you because, one day you will regret that you never loved yourself.

In the next paragraph lll explain how each section impacts me in my music as well me as a woman

Section 1&2

To my point of view I believe this paragraph is explaining that she is not part of any category, in fact she expresses that she is beautiful regardless what other people think. Because of that confidence and beauty that’s within and without people admire her as a saint. In the second sections again she talks how also men admire that the fall to their knees and swarm around her.  She justifies that the reason why the men admire her so much is because of the fire, ambition, happiness and freeness of her personality that the so admire. These 2 section admire as a black woman because I believe through many direction, women are seen as less then, not appropriate or not acceptable in all forms. And it has taken me quite a while for me to love myself for what I am and what God gave me. I believe it’s extremely hard for black women to accept and love themselves, because we see in a lives through social media, academics, and many industries that we are not pretty, suitable or even intelligent enough.

Section 3&4

In section 3 yet again it explains why men are so intrigued of her mystery and why they can never get enough of her, then she so forth explains the reason of why they  love her for what she is. She goes into deeper depth of how she respects and values who she is. I Believe when she phrases,”My inner mystery,When I try to show them, They say they still can't see.” explains that even though they are so blinded by her beauty and uniqueness, she not surprised  that they can't figure out her. In one of my poems I gained influence from this saying, in which said that;”  The queen that can’t be defined with the mind, your words have to be decoded for the masses” The reason why  I wrote this is because i believe that in today's society no one fully appreciates complexity of the mind, especially the female mind because a lot of people that women less than.

The reason why I analysed this poem is because it has influenced greatly in creating music to uplift women, especially women of colour. One of my most influenced song from this poem is called African Queen. In my lyrics I explain how the black Female is discriminated and disprected on a daily basis because of the complexion.

In verse 1 I proclaim, “ Hey you there it's okay to be sad, misunderstood and miseducated by the beauty of your soul.” explains how the black women feels lost and confused in her own identity, that she feels depressed and uncomfortable in her own skin. The second sentence means that the reason they feel so lost is because is they have been miseducated of their true identity and culture. The reason  why i say this is because for decades the black race been told that there in this world is to be a servant to either a system or to the superior.