In Phenomenal Woman, Angelou uses imagery to empower women and explains that despite her not being society’s image of beauty, she is not any less of a woman and keeps her head held high with confidence and power. The quality of Maya Angelou’s poetry comes from imagery she uses to express confidence, self-empowerment, and strength to overcome any obstacle. In both poems, Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise, Angelou has inspirational themes to encourage others in their struggles. On the other hand, the theme for Still I Rise is that no matter what anyone may do to the narrator, she will not be defeated but will rise against any oppression with confidence and self-respect. The poem Phenomenal Woman seeks to empower women, although they may not be the ideal woman in society’s standards, they can still have confidence and strength in being themselves. Phenomenal Woman and Still I Rise are prime examples of this. In this clear social statement, Angelou showed her feeling towards social injustice of race, and gender.
She performed an original poem for the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993, On The Pulse of Morning (Wedin) that called for better future and greater things that can be accomplished together by everyone. In her later years, Angelou became a civil rights activist, fighting against social injustice and issues that affected many people.ĭon't use plagiarized sources. Angelou was known to have written poems that depicted black beauty, the strength of women, and the human spirit criticizing the Vietnam War demanding social justice for all (Maya Angelou) among other things.
However, that childhood trauma didn’t stop her from finding strength and confidence to speak up about things that were important to her. Angelou had a broad career but was famously known for her work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970) which depicts her early life (Wedin). Louis, Missouri, Angelou had a tough childhood growing up, dealing with many difficulties that would later impact her works of literature. Born in 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Maya Angelou, author of the poems Still I Rise and Phenomenal Woman, was not only a well-known poet, but was also an autobiographer, songwriter, playwright, dancer, singer, director, and a civil rights activist among other professions.
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