Sara Valenti, double degree, group B.

Phenomenal Woman
BY MAYA ANGELOU

(1) 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.

1. Summarize:
 Stanza 1 (160 words)
In this stanza the author talks about a secret she knows about why
women are beautiful, this secret does not lie in being able to have a
model size, so, in the aesthetic ideal that is socially imposed on women
and often unreachable. Rather, says the author, this secret lies in the
expanse of her hips and the range of her arms that make her a
phenomenal woman, along with the way she walks, and the way her lips
curl when she smiles.
The word "phenomenal" is repeated in the stanza and will be used to
close the following stanzas, just to emphasize this characteristic of her
being a woman and women in general, phenomenal, not exclusively
"beautiful".

(2) 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,   
 Sara Valenti, double degree, group B.

And the joy in my feet.   

I’m a woman
Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.all

2. Summarize:
 Stanza 2 (160 words)
The stanza opens with the description of how man can react when she
enters in a room, above all, is underlined the confidence of her steps, her
way of walking. In general, the "confidence" in herself is the thematic
fulcrum of the whole stanza, is this confidence that makes the mans “fall
down on their kneels” and act like bees around the honey, but also,
recalling the first stanza, other characteristics, the phenomenal’s woman
characteristics, like the movement of the waist, the whiteness of the
smile and the fire in the look.

(3) 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.

3. Summarize:
 Stanza 3 (160 words)
 Sara Valenti, double degree, group B.

In this third stanza the author speaks about how hard, woman and mans,
try hard to understand what is the mystery of her fascinating appeal,
especially mans who are attracted from her. These qualities are a series
of physical attributes that she feels make her so intriguing: the curve of
her back, her happy smile, the movement of her breasts, and her
gracefulness. Fpr this she is a phenomenal woman.

(4) 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 for my care.   
’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

4. Summarize:
 Stanza 4 (160 words)
In the closing stanza the author explains that now the reader will be
aware of the mystery, the secret to being a woman, phenomenal. That
does not lie in being "beautiful" tailored to society, but, as she said in the
previous stanzas, in being confident, in the steady step and in the focus
of the gaze. That she has no need to catch attention by shouting or
jumping or speaking loudly, because, when she passes by, she makes
people proud, by virtue of her appearance and the way she carries
herself, fot the way her heels click on the ground as she walks by and the
curl of her hair.
She concludes the stanza with the same affirmation that ended the other
three.
Sara Valenti, double degree, group B.

5. Describe the main themes of the poem (700 words)

The central theme of this poem is undoubtedly the "femininity", the poetry analysed is,
we could say, in general an anthem, a celebration of the female world and its
characteristics, of its being phenomenal in all its features, especially in the beauty of her
body and her sensuality.

This feminine beauty described by the auric enters immediately, from the first verses of
the first verse, in contrast with the ideal of beauty expressed by contemporary society,
we could say a beauty magazine, from models of meagre sizes, often ideal of beauty
impossible to reach. On the contrary, the author praises a beauty with luxuriant forms,
full lips and breasts and the dancing life in walking, a burst beauty, healthy and full as a
fruit, not by chance in front of this men buzz like "bees around honey".

Other important characteristics of femininity are also praised in the poetic text, which
are at the origin of the charm: like a bright smile, or a proud, attentive, awake and
"fiery" look. These last characteristics, together with the "confidence", equally central
theme in poetry, make a woman is relatively what she is, that is phenomenal.

Talking instead about the "secret" (quoted in the first verses) on which a lot of men and
women wonder how the author is so charming, this is revealed only, in an indirect and
partial way, in the last verse and, contrary to what is excreted in the previous verses,
which are, as we said, a hymn to external beauty; this secret resides in an intrinsic
characteristic of being a woman, who resides in her "head", which has to do with her
being an extreme confident with herself, with her attitude of feeling good for what she
is. It’s something untouchable and hidden, thats why she doesn’t need to yell, or draw
attention to herself, like jumping around; this inner quality is the source not only of her
own pride but also as the reason why others should be proud of her as she passes, that’s
her sense of identity.

6. Describe the style of the poem (300 words)

The poem does not follow a rhythmic scheme and rhymes, most of the verses are
free, except for the closing of each stanza in which the same verses are repeated,
with the same words. The intent, as well as rhyming, behind this repetition is to
emphasize the central theme of poetry, that is, the fact of being a "phenomenal"
woman, in fact the verse also gives the title to the poem.
Sara Valenti, double degree, group B.