Hieu+Nguyen

Maya Angelou
Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou, also known as Marguerite Annie Johnson, has been a voice for many women around the world. Her childhood experiences has driven her to accomplish many roles in society today like a poet, an author, a film director, and even being appointed by Martin Luther King, Jr., to be the coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Maya Angelou is a one of the “best-known black writers in the United States” (Neubauer). She has expressed a lot of her hardships through books and poetry. In most of Angelou’s works she talks a lot about woman’s rights and she very much for women empowerment especially for African American women. Angelou’s past is the driving force of the majority of her works. Her past was anything but smooth. Angelou was at the young age of three her parents were divorced and she was sent to her grandmother, Mrs. Annie Henderson. (Neubauer) She never got the “sense of security” and love from her parents. She was also raped at a very young age so she never felt a sense of belonging anywhere. Those are only a few of the many hardships Maya Angelou had to overcome to be where she is today and all those things very much influenced a lot of her work. Two of her poems that relate to woman's rights are //And Still I Rise// and //Phenomenal Woman//. In the poem //And Still I Rise,// it talks about how she may be put down by people but no matter what she still rises above that. You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise (lines 1-4) The narrator exclaims that people can be "bitter" and write "twisted lies" to make them feel better about themselves but even with that Angelou will "still rise". This poem was “inspired and spoken by a confident voice of strength that recognizes its own power and will no longer be pushed into passivity.” (Neubauer) Angelou is speaking so that others will be brave and not tolerate all the inequality that is going on. She goes into detail in her poem by explaining, Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard (lines 13-18) She talks about being black and how slavery has gone about but yet she still rises from all the hardships of her past. Angelou goes on and says, 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide (lines 19-34) She is insinuating that her “gold mines”, “sexiness”, and “diamonds” is the strength that’s driving her to have courage and confidence. The narrator is also asking a lot of questions to the audience and in a way they are questioning the reader’s self-belief. She goes on explaining about, Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise (lines 35-43) saying that even in the “nights of terror and fear” she still rises above that. She goes on explaining that her ancestors and roots gave her “the gifts” to move forward and have a strong voice, and with that, she will speak and become the hope for her ancestors and her people. Neubauer asserts that “(Angelou’s) spirit will soar as she transforms "the gifts that my ancestors gave" into poetry, and herself into "the dream and the hope of the slave." Angelou is a strong African American woman and she is not only saying this for her roots but for all people. Another one of Maya Angelou's poem that deals with woman's rights is //Phenomenal Woman//. This poem talks about an average, everyday woman can be phenomenal in her own right. Maya Angelou has always promoted women empowerment. Because of Angelou's past, she had to mature very fast and never felt secure with herself and the things around her. Through her lessons learned she has create many works dealing with confidence and self-worth. Neubauer also claims that this poem “captures the essence of womanhood and at the same time describes the many talents of the poet herself.” She is powerful, confident, and does not let anything get in her way of what she wants. In the first stanza, 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 (lines 1-13) The woman in the poem preaches that “the span of (her) hips”, “stride of (her) steps”, and “the curl of (her) hips” makes her a “phenomenal woman” and thus in turn she is trying to explain to her reader she is still beautiful. It is portrayed that“a woman explains her special graces that make her stand out in a crowd and attract the attention of both men and women, although she is not, by her own admission, "cut or built to suit a fashion model's size." (Neubauer) The next couple of lines in this poem, 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, Thats me (lines 14-29) talks about how her confidence is what makes her unique and she doesn't care how she looks because the men “swarm around (her)” anyways. Her determination and courage is the driving force for her outspoken personality. The narrator also goes on and talks about how her belief in herself makes her independent. It also shows that she doesn't need anyone to make her happy. This gives women all around to have the confidence in themselves to go out and pursue anything they desire with no fear to criticism as she says in the next couple of lines. 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 (lines 30-45)

Neubauer also thinks that “yet her attraction is not purely physical; men seek her for her "inner mystery," "the grace of [her] style," and "the need for [her] care." As the poem finishes up the narrator expresses why she is the way she is with all the confidence embodied in her. She's telling women that they should be "proud" of who they are no matter how they look or how they are that they are "phenomenal" no matter what. Every woman “need not "bow" her head but can walk tall with a quiet pride that beckons those in her presence.” (Neubauer). The narrator tells the audience <span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman,serif; text-align: center;">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 of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me (lines 46-60)

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">meaning that this the things she has expressed in the poem should make us proud to be who we are and that every individual woman is a "phenomenal woman". Maya Angelou’s past drove her to speak out about her difficult experiences through many different forms of art like movies, novels, and even poetry. The influence of her past has helped her works immensely and her passion and emotion is clearly imprinted in her poetry. She involves herself in a lot of civil rights acts and woman’s rights. In most of Angelou’s works she talks a lot about woman’s rights and she very much for women empowerment especially for African American women. Maya Angelou tackles a lot of social issues a big one being African American woman’s rights, voice, and influence.

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**__ Works Cited __** <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">1. Neubauer, Carol E. Maya Angelou: Self and a Song of Freedom in the Southern Tradition, in //Southern Women Writers: The New Generation//, edited by Tonette Bond Inge, The University of Alabama Press, 1990. <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">2. Angelou, Maya. //The Complete Collected Poems Of Maya Angelou//. New York City: Random House, 1994. Print <span style="mso-ansi-language: #03FF; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; msoansilanguage: #03FF; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msolist: Ignore;">3. "And Still I Rise." //Youtube//. Web. 24 Oct 2009. < [] o50LSZ0&feature=related>.