Read the next poem. Write a short academic paper in which you answer the following question: ¿Who is Maya Angelou addressing in the poem and what does she want to tell them?
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 lip.
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 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.
Excerpt from And Still I Rise
By Maya Angelou
Life for African Americans back in the 20s, 30s was not an easy life there were lots of discrimination due to the racial hate among white people. Black people were segregated, killed, humiliated. One of these black people was Marguerite Annie Johnson better known as Maya Angelou her unfavorable situation she suffered made her the woman she was and allowed her to express those feeling through writing and one of those pieces of literature was phenomenal woman she as the main character exposed her living experiences through time. This unique writing was a cry asking for help to the outside world wanting to break free from the cages society had created for centuries just because a matter skin color, it was a cry letting know people the suffering she has been living.
ResponderEliminarPhenomenal woman was not about telling the beauty of a normal woman as we read the lines we see she is pointing her physical and unique beauty features that it may not fit into the society in that time but it was a delightful view and inner desire for men that wanted to have a physical contact with the curve and lips she had. These lines of sadness and wanting independence as a human being pointing “I am a woman” and that her head will not bow show us that her eagerness to freedom from slavery shall not end and most importantly she is equal as everyone else.
A cry for help to the outside world doesn’t mean desperation sign as we see in the lines but it was an act of bravery to say I may be physically weak and use my body to outlive the rage of that time. Phenomenal woman insinuates to society they will never be able to replicate what she naturally possesses inside herself the way she walk, look, and her confidence to hold her head high despite of the problems and the world outside will never feel sorrow for them. These people in society who is she addressing is to belongs to a different scenario were unfairness is not as strong as in the country where she was living.
As a society we have the right and duty to empower fairness and equal rights for everyone no matter their skin color religion. We have seen the cruelty racism in Phenomenal Woman and standing out for every woman who is going through these same issues is a signal of bravery to anyone who reads these moving lines.
We think when Maya Angelou starts talking about her physical qualities; she wants to describe herself as a fantastic woman full of vanity and coquetry that no one could resist the temptations of her attributes.
ResponderEliminarShe was a phenomenal woman with an inner mystery in her qualities as a woman. She flatters all the time about her beauty and she wanted to show herself as she was a fresh and radiant woman. She knew that there was something that made fellows to bend at her feet.
But what was that? What was that mystery that made her so special? She only knew that and that´s why she flatters all the time. She certainly knew that the mystery she had was what men always look for in a woman. She knew that her deepest secret was just her, her own style of walking, her own style of looking at people, her lips and all those characteristics all women want and that she only knew she certainly had.
We can then say that Maya wants to tell men that all what they want is her physical body, what they want is just touch her, but they do not appreciate the other qualities she must have as a person but her beauty as a woman. She wants to tell them that they only care about physical appearances but not the other qualities human beings could have, especially women.
By Diana Cortina & Rafael Babilonia
Academic Paper
ResponderEliminarPoem “phenomenal woman”
Literature and Drama in ELT
Name: Lorena Bermejo
Victoria Escobar
Professor: Amilkar Caballero
Especialización Enseñanza del Idioma Inglés
Maya Angelou did not consider herself as a fragile person or with fewer opportunities than others, she conceived herself as an empowered woman through her writing, with the power of contributing to her kind´s freedom.
In her poem “phenomenal woman”, she addressed to the white American community referring to herself as a remarkable person, even though she did not suit the stereotype of a woman allowed by the epoch; where the white supremacy of the previous centuries was and is still dominant, where racism and discrimination in America resists itself from disappearing, even worse the value of being a woman, a black woman.
As an African-American it was difficult to be raised in the south of United States, where; she was strongly discriminated by her skin color as well as her community. As a consequence she would always have in mind the desire of fighting for African civil rights.
Therefore she would reflect it in every piece of her writing, as it was mentioned before. An example of the proud of her roots and being a black woman is expressed in the next fragment of the “phenomenal woman”
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 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 was not beautiful, tall, slim or white, but her beliefs and strengths were more noteworthy than the other features she had according to the context she lived in and her thoughts printed on numerous words capable of disarming paradigms.
Literature and Drama through ELT
ResponderEliminarEstherlante Jaraba
Jacqueline Osorio
Olga Rodríguez
Phenomenal Woman
Maya Angelou was a writer and civil rights activist in the United States, who after having a whole series of occupations in her youth she dedicated to defend the rights of black people and women.
She dared to talk about inner beauty that prevailed over physical appearance. She defined inner strength and self-confidence as the essence of women. She refers to beauty as the awareness of every part of the body and the nature of our soul.
A woman who is able of handling every part of her body, which is not subjected to any fashion stereotype. One example is seen in her poem with each self-confident movement, the smoothness of the way she walks and how she does not get convinced by the flattery words of men:
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.
Maya Angelou was just the an example of strength and fight for nowadays women, like some others who worked hard to forge a better future, not only for black women, but also for the rest of the genre which has had hard battle for their rights and dignity.
PHENOMENAL WOMAN PAPER
ResponderEliminarAs the people in the Caribbean coast of Colombia say, “the pretty wish they had the luck of the homely”, this poem is target to all people; it describes a woman that does not have the conventional beauty standards but she has the secret to catch the attention of the people around her.
She wants to break the notion of beautifulness with her own vision. The poem denotes the particular appearance of a woman, her physical characteristics, it was not the standardize it ones however, she considers she was a phenomenal woman because her attitude makes the difference and her inner mystery causes men fall in love with her.
She bright with her own style, she has identity. Although, she was not a suit fashion model size, men desire her, she was proud of who she is and she was always reminding herself she was a “phenomenal women” for that reason, she knew she was well endowed and she was able to take advantage of her qualities and shine.
CONCLUSION
People stigmatized others without taking into account that diversity is the beautifulness of life, we think that no matters your appearance everyone has qualities and features that makes humans beings unique.
Adasnery Beltran & Princesa Gomez