2.+Individual+Analysis+1

//Phenomenal Women// by Maya Angelou

** 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 of my care, 'Cause I'm a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That's me.


 * __Analysis:__** Two examples of hyperbole found in //Phenomenal Women// were, "Pretty women wonder were my secret lies, Im not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size." and "The fellows stand or fall down on their knees." These two hyperboles are not meant to be taken literally. Women wouldnt really wonder where her secret lies, nor men drop to their knees. In the second stanza, Maya boasts that no matter how cool an entry she makes into a room, men fall for her. This again, is an exaggeration because no man would drop to their knees. Maya Angelou is trying to emphasize that the Women is not pretty, rather she is fat, and short. The poet’s use of the word ‘phenomenal’ may seem an exaggeration, but it is not meant as exaggeration. It is sincerely used in order to suggest the poet’s power as a woman.

J,Avella