Phenomenal Woman

‘Phenomenal Woman’ appeared in Maya Angelou’s third volume of poetry, And Still I Rise. It was first published in 1978. In this poem, she celebrates her body and the bodies, and positive characteristics of all women.

Angelou, who died at the age of 86 in 2014, is one of the most celebrated poets and memoirists in American literature. She’s remembered as a writer as well as a civil rights activist.

The first of her autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was the first U.S. bestseller ever written by an African American woman. It catapulted Angelou into instant fame in the literary world.  The majority of her work deals with racism and sexism she experienced as an African American woman.

‘Phenomenal Woman’ is one of her most memorable poems across her numerous volumes of poetry.

Summary

The first-person speaker of the poem ‘Phenomenal Woman,‘ presumably Maya Angelou, describes the allure she has and celebrates her identity as a woman.

Throughout each stanza, the speaker exposes the attributes she possesses that deem her irresistible to others, particularly to those of the opposite sex, despite the fact that she does not fit into society’s definition of what makes a woman beautiful.

The first stanza includes the physical traits that make her stand out, from her hips to her smile.  As the poem continues, she extols the inner mystery that makes her so attractive to the men around her. She uses phrases like the “span of my hips,” “grace of my style,” “ride of my breasts,” and “bend of my hair.” She also mentions the “flash of my teeth,” “click of my heels,” and “reach of my arms.” These are examples of parallelism that all indicate the poet’s interpretation of her strength and power.

At the end of the piece, she describes the confidence and pride she has in herself, which radiates from her. In essence, this is Angelou’s anthem about her pride in being a woman.

Meaning

Angelou’s constant use of the word “phenomenal” is twofold. One most often defines the word as meaning extraordinary and impressive, and she is certainly revelling in being an extraordinary and impressive woman; however, the word phenomenal is also synonymous with unbelievable. By consciously choosing to call herself phenomenal, the speaker seems almost incredulous that she is lucky enough to be a woman. That’s why she says in the last four lines of the poem:

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Structure

Structurally, Angelou breaks her poem into four major stanzas, with a smaller yet still significant stanza in between. So, there are a total of five stanzas. While there is some evidence of rhyme, she mostly uses an unconventional rhyme scheme. She begins her poem with a couplet in the first two lines: “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies./ I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size”. While her use of rhyme is sporadic, she does, however, repeatedly end her lines with words that end in “s.” This adds to the sultry, sensual tone of the poem, particularly when it is read aloud.

Literary Devices

Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to:

• Repetition: Angelou ends the majority of her stanzas with “That’s me.” In addition, the phrase “phenomenal woman” is repeated throughout the course of the poem, once again emphasizing Angelou’s unconventional beauty and appeal to the opposite sex.
• Enjambment: seen in the transition between lines ten and eleven of the first stanza as well as lines one and two of the second stanza.
• Alliteration: examples include “women wonder” in line one of stanza one and “fellows” and “fall” in lines four and five of the second stanza.
• Imagery: examples include “The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips” and “Then they swarm around me, / A hive of honey bees.”

Themes

Angelou’s ‘Phenomenal Woman’ taps on the themes of womanhood, identity, pride, self-love, and self-acceptance. The main theme, womanhood, is celebrated throughout the poem. The line, “I’m a woman,” propagates her self-confidence in being a woman. She celebrates not only her bodily beauty but also her inner glow. Another important theme, identity, is explored from the perspective of gender. She does not talk about her racial identity. Rather, her voice expresses her pride for being an attractive woman, not physically but mentally.

The themes of self-love and self-acceptance are there in this work. In the last stanza, the speaker says that her head is unbowed as she accepts how she is. She is happy with it and takes pride in the way her body radiates her inner beauty.

Detailed Analysis

Stanza One

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

(…)

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.

In the first stanza, Angelou’s speaker bluntly tells her reader that other women wonder what she has that they are missing, even though she lacks the traits that society most often judges to be beautiful; she intuits that the other women are jealous of her. She writes, “They think I’m telling lies.” The speaker continues on, telling the reader her appeal lies in her arms, hips, and lips.

Her voice reflects a sense of confidence. She does not hesitate to talk about the span of her hips or the stride of her steps. Her body is unique, and she is satisfied with how she is. Besides, she doesn’t care about the so-called “fashion.” She is confident that it’s in the reach of her arms.

The last four lines of this stanza are repeated in the following stanzas with slight variations. These lines act as a refrain that expresses the speaker’s inner happiness for being a “phenomenal woman.”

Stanza Two

I walk into a room

(…) 

Phenomenally.

In her second stanza, she moves away from discussing women and begins to discuss the spell she seems to have over the men she encounters. Her attractiveness goes beyond the physical: it is something innate inside her that makes her so irresistible to men. While women can change the way they look, Angelou insinuates that they will never be able to replicate what she naturally possesses inside herself.

Stanza Three

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

The third stanza contains only two lines. These lines are a part of the refrain. Separating these lines in this stanza, Angelou tries to emphasize the idea. Besides, she uses this scheme to give special stress to the words. It enhances the confident mood of the poem. As readers can see, these lines need special emphasis. The repetition of the same idea also expounds on how she feels when men hover around her like honeybees. She feels confident by thinking about men’s reactions and celebrates her phenomenal beauty.

Stanza Four

Men themselves have wondered   

(…)

That’s me.

This idea continues into the fourth stanza, where the speaker discusses the fact that even men cannot pinpoint what it is about her that is so irresistible. Her answer to them is that she’s a woman. She is saying, “Unbelievably, I’m a woman. I’m an extraordinary, amazing woman. That’s who I am.”

Readers can find a metaphor in this stanza. It is present in the phrase “inner mystery.” The “mystery” is nothing but the speaker’s self-confidence. Besides, the “sun of my smile” contains another metaphor. Here Angelou implicitly compares her smile to sunshine. The “sun” is also a symbol of energy as well as self-sufficiency. So, her smile is energetic, like the sunlight.

Stanza Five

Now you understand

(…)

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

In the last lines of the poem, Angelou speaks directly to her reader after explaining her appeal to her audience. She explains that she does not need to draw attention to herself; the attention is naturally given to her because she is a woman. Her last line, set apart in its own stanza, simply says, “That’s me.” Because she is a woman—a phenomenal woman—she has the confidence and pride to walk with her head held high.

Historical Context

‘Phenomenal Woman’ was first published in Maya Angelou’s collection “And Still I Rise” (1978). Later it was published in her book of poetry “Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems Celebrating Women” in 1995, along with Maya Angelou’s most popular poems such as ‘Still I Rise’ and ‘Our Grandmothers.’

This poem was previously published in Cosmopolitan magazine along with her ‘Just For a Time’ in 1978. The 1993 American romantic drama film Poetic Justice, it was also featured. After its initial appearance, it got a favorable response from the critics as well as the audience. Angelou often performed ‘Phenomenal Woman’, which has been called her “personal theme-poem.” Literary critic Harold Bloom considers it a “hymn-like poem to woman’s beauty.”

In an interview, Angelou said that the poem was for all women. She added, “Now, I know men are phenomenal, but they have to write their own poem.”

FAQs

Similar Poetry

Here is a list of a few poems that are similar to the themes present in Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Phenomenal Woman.’

• ‘On Being a Woman’ by Dorothy Parker – This short and humorous poem describes a fickle-minded lady’s failure in love to be true to her emotions. Read more poems by Dorothy Parker.
• ‘A Woman’s Hands’ by Eva Bezwoda – In this poem, a wife (or a mother) proclaims her distress in the number of tasks she does for her family. Explore more Eva Bezwoda poems.
• ‘Black Woman’ by Georgia Douglas Johnson – This poem contains the words of a woman, desperate to have a child but unwilling to bring one into the world. Read more poems from Georgia Douglas Johnson.
• ‘A Woman Speaks’ by Audre Lorde – This poem is both a warrior’s song for the invisible and a conversation between women of different cultures. Explore more Audre Lorde poems.

You can also read about the best-loved poems by African American poets and inspirational poems about black women.