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An analysis of elements in the

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poetry
By:
Muthi’ah Nurul Izzati
A320180279
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Phenomenal Woman
by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
I walk into a room
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But when I start to tell them,

Just as cool as you please,
They think I’m telling lies.
And to a man,
I say,
The fellows stand or
It’s in the reach of my arms,
Fall down on their knees.
The span of my hips,
Then they swarm around me,
The stride of my step,
A hive of honey bees.
The curl of my lips.
I say,
I’m a woman
It’s the fire in my eyes,
Phenomenally.
And the flash of my teeth,
Phenomenal woman,
The swing in my waist,
That’s me.
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
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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,
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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,
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Phenomenal Woman is a collection of poetry by Maya Angelou,

from the poem entitled And I Still Arise. This poem was
published in 1978, it has a lot of lines in each stanza but also
contains a very strong and inspired message.
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The elements analyzed

are as follows
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1. Content/Subject and Theme

2. Sound Effect

3. Poetic Device
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Content/subject and theme

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 This poem is about self-love and self-confidence as a woman.

 The speaker in the poem said that she was not cute and had not a good
body like other pretty women. However, her confidence, with her
passion that radiated from her eyes and her smile, with her natural
appearance, was able to make beautiful women wonder and make men
flock to her.
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Sound effect
Rhyme
The rhymes definitely make a difference to the overall sound and feel of the poem,
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especially in the first six or seven lines of each stanza. And at the end of each.
For example:
• ies/size/lies and hips/lips
• please/knees/bees
• much/touch and me/mystery/see plus smile/style
• bowed/loud/proud and hair/care
In addition, each stanza has the perfect rhyme of woman/woman and the full
rhyme Phenomenally/That's me.
 
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Sound effect

Rhythm and Meter

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There is a varied meter in this poem, a mix of trochee and iamb with anapest. The
underlying beat in some lines is iambic, the well-known da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM
beat, the most common in English poetry.
For example:
• But when I start to tell them/They think I'm telling lies.
• When you see me passing, / It ought to make you proud.
• The bend of my hair, / the palm of my hand, /The need for my care.

The rhythm in this poem is suitable to be heard and read aloud

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Poetic device

Repetition Metaphor
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This poem uses repeated lines at the end of each Metaphor is a poetry technique that compare
stanza to bring attention to being a phenomenal two objects without using the words "like" or
woman. For example: "as." This poem uses a metaphor to
compare men to a hive of bees. It can be
I'm a woman identified from line 6 and 7 of 2nd stanza
Phenomenally. Then they swarm around me,
Phenomenal woman, A hive of honey bees.
That's me.
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