Comparing Poems By Maya Angelou And Phenomenal Woman By Nikki Giovanni

She believes if African-American women were as confident, and strong as her they will be successful. In addition, by making herself this powerful goddess who exercises her language as an art form which is a way for African-American women to showcase strength and power. Nikki does not acknowledge equality for just some women but she wants equality for all women and sexism is something that requires rejection. In line 7 of “Ego-Tripping,” Nikki says that, “She is bad” emphasizing how astonishing of a woman she is for the many plentiful accomplishments she holds giving her that incredible sense of identity. According to Nikki Giovanni in lines 47-51 of Ego-Tripping she stresses that any goal is achievable if faith is on the

a. Maya Angelou was an avid writer, speaker, activist and teacher. As a result of the many hardships that she suffered while growing up as a poor black woman in the south she has used her own experiences as the subject matter of her written work. In doing this she effectively shows how she was able to overcome her personal obstacles. Her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970) tells the story of her life and how she overcame and moved forward triumphantly in spite of her circumstances. She asks her readers to rise above their defeats, to not allow anyone to stop their dreams. In demonstrating how she succeeded she has been a role model for women of all cultures and races. The “Phenomenal Women” poem is a celebration

“Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.” (Online - White House). This memorial statement, by Barack Obama in 2014, encompasses how many felt towards Maya Angelou, one of the most influential writers and voices of her generation. Over the course of her lifetime, Maya Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees and received the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Angelou’s personal admiration and self-love that is reflected in her poetic works, specifically, “Phenomenal Woman,” is credited to the overcoming of her traumatic childhood and her work in activism.

As with all theories, this feminist approach to Louise Halfe’s “Body Politics” does not come without its flaws. While it can be argued that this poem criticizes the performativity of feminine gender roles in a patriarchal society, this cannot be proven definitively without knowing the author’s original intentions. Furthermore, the poem does not give its readers enough information to conclude that the society the women live in is in fact a patriarchal society. This becomes evident, as there is no reference to any masculine figure – so any assumptions about the masculine-dominant culture are purely speculative. It is possible that Halfe wrote this poem in an attempt to challenge the gender binary, however one stands to question how successfully she is in doing so. In Butler’s theory, she introduces the idea that each woman’s feminism is her

Throughout the history of literature, female characters are often side characters that do not get much recognition from readers. It is a known fact that women are underestimated in Beowulf . When we look at the poem, more it is emphasized the bravery of Beowulf and how to struggle with Grendel. In my opinion, as well as male characters, women characters should be in the forefront in Beowulf. When we examine the roles of women in poetry by a closer, we can see that the women play in central roles in Anglo-Saxon society.

The poem 's form, diction, imagery, and tone relay the speaker 's attitude toward the woman. The order of the stanzas and the word choice makes it apparent that the speaker loves the woman. The imagery and tone also helps readers to see the speaker 's attitude. All of these elements work together so the reader can see the speaker 's

Phenomenal Woman, by Maya Angelou is an inspiring poem that encourages women, including myself to be confident and to love themselves just the way they are. It encourages women to be independent and confident despite what others think about them, especially men. In “Phenomenal Woman”, there are various literary devices used, some of which include repetition, parallelism, metaphors and personification.

Throughout the trial-and-error events that have happened in America, there are good and bad results in the end. During the 20th century, a big positive result was the art that had developed during this time. From paintings to poems, and sculpture to music, everything was inspiring to many individuals. There were many pieces of art that were so inspirational and thought-provoking that they are still around in the 21st century. Some authors during this time period share a similar idea, possibly due to the time period by which they lived or by experiences that they shared, but they also have a stark difference, whether it is in the tone, the diction, or even the point of view from the speaker. Two speakers

How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, is a poem written by Dr. Seuss. The superiority of males, is a hidden message shown in this poem. The story is about a man who wants to stop Christmas. He does this by stealing all the presents form the Who family. He comes across Cindy-Lou Who. The first and almost immediate impression we are given is that she is small and tiny. “Little Cindy-Lou Who……. this tiny Who daughter,”. In comparison to the Grinch (who is big), Cindy-Lou is inferior to the Grinch because of her size. This also suggests that women in this time were seen as inferior to men or looked up men (in relation to height). Cindy-Lou is the only female character in this poem. This goes

In two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou talk about a poor bird that is trapped in a cage and wants to be free. It longs for everything that the free bird has but it cannot achieve it. In both of the poems, there is a use of comparisons between freedom and nature. It is also interpreted from the poems that the use of a song is a form of coping for the birds. Both of the birds sing for their freedom and sing through their pain. The two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou are so similar, yet so different.

Sarah Kay is an American educator, reader and a spoken poet, who was born to a Taoist mother and a Brooklynese father. She is also the founder and co-director of Project VOICE, a project whose aim is to entertain, educate, and inspire its audience. Thus, these three aims are important aspects of Kay’s poems and their effect on her audience. Throughout her poems, she tackles social issues widely present in today’s world, and her poem “The Type” is no different. Kay is the speaker of, “The Type” and throughout the poem, she is taking to individuals who identify themselves to be a woman. This is shown in the opening line when she says, “If you grow up the type of women...” Throughout this poem, Kay explores the themes of empowerment and identity, through the use of repetition and connotation. Through the frequent use of repetition, Kay puts emphasis on how women are defined in relation to males. Additionally, she also uses connotation to remind women they are more than what they are perceived to be in relation to others and they have the power to define themselves. Therefore the main idea of the poem is to perhaps remind women of their worth and inspire them to define themselves on their own terms, and not through the eyes of men or in comparison/relation to their relationship with others.

5,6) the issues that have been mentioned above are expressed. Since, especially black women, are considered to be living in the shadow this passage exposes the feelings and representation of black women in society. Their existence in the world which is not considered and respected. Considering especially the fact that the lyrical I is a black maiden, she seeks for recognition and acceptance among the other figures of the poem. Referring to contemporary issues, the lyrical I would be classified as a lower ranked person since she is black and being occupied as a maid, which clearly makes her powerless and voiceless in society.

The way that Sylvia Plath presented the image of women in her poems drawattention of many to the problem of patriarchy and overshadowing the importance of the female role in the society. She was a great poetess and a literary revolutionist in a female world. By combining irony, extendedmetaphors and a great use of language she was able to show the inequality and the dominance of man over woman in the society. She showed that even as, according to the society,a comparatively weak personcould fight for the right cause with her firmest weapon,her extraordinary style of writing. She revolutionised the world of poetry and presented women as a very strong part of the society capable of accomplishinggreat things.Words:

In “Still I Rise,” she writes “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?” Even while growing up, Angelou experienced gender discrimination because of the era she was born in. She never agreed with it, however, and in this poem she flaunts her womanhood. Angelou never genuinely experienced love in her childhood, and instead she gained independence from her experiences. As a teenager, relatively few would acknowledge a lady 's independence, however Angelou continued to be solid in her beliefs. She demonstrates her independence in the sonnet "Still I Rise" where she writes, "Why are you assail with misery?/ 'Cause I walk like I have oil wells/Pumping in my living room." Through these lines, Angelou is defying the generalization that lady are not fit to work, procure cash, or oversee cash. Maya Angelou is physically chunky, yet she doesn 't give that factor a chance to bring her down. As an alternative, she demonstrates pride in her physical attributes. Angelou writes, for instance, "Does it come as a surprise/That I move like I have diamonds/At the meeting of my thighs," and "I 'm a dark sea, leaping and wide,/Welling and swelling I bear in the tide." She is accepting her psychical appearance and is putting it in a positive standpoint. This bold poem of Maya Angelou show great struggle