20 pages • 40 minutes read
Phenomenal Woman
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Themes
The Empowered Self
One of the major themes of “Phenomenal Woman” is pride in yourself, regardless of how others see you. What others observe or measure does not need to influence how you view your attributes. Despite external pressure from “pretty women” (Line 2) or disappointing men to conform or diminish herself, the speaker has confidence and sees herself as a “phenomenal woman” (Line 12) whose “head’s not bowed” (Line 47).
The speaker of the poem recognizes that she is not considered conventionally beautiful, but she nevertheless acknowledges with pride the mysterious force that compels those around her to value and desire her. Those around her seem resentful of her ability to be charming or alluring. “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies” (Line 1)—their understanding of the prevailing culture, which holds up thin, white, straight-haired women as the beauty ideal, makes them incredulous that someone who looks like the speaker could be attracting positive attention. These women imply that the speaker must be “telling lies” (Line 4) when she explains why her non-traditionally appealing external and internal attributes have power. Even the men who “swarm around me” (Line 19) can’t always figure out why they’re drawn to her; even when she tries to explain her profound confidence to them, “they still can’t see” (Line 36).
The speaker doesn’t let this curb the “joy in my feet” (Line 25). She isn’t bothered by the fact that these others can’t “touch / My inner mystery” (Lines 32-33). She believes in her own worth and can, therefore, leave the observers to their judgments. There is no need for her to “shout” (Line 48), “talk real loud” (Line 49), or work overtime to make them change their minds. She knows that she’s “phenomenal” (Line 59), despite what they think; she therefore refuses to keep her good qualities hidden. She is more than capable of empowering herself. Due to this, she feels that when people “see my passing, / It ought to make [them] proud” (Lines 50-51). Angelou stresses how her speaker’s empowerment can be contagious.
Beyond a Picture-Perfect Beauty
The standards of beauty that the poem describes belong to the “pretty women” (Line 1) who surround its speaker. These women are “cute [and] built to suit a fashion model’s size” (Line 2). However, they also seem static and frozen, perhaps passive. This image is conjured up by their connection to models in fashion magazines. These women’s beauty rests on their image rather than their being. To contrast this limited view of beauty, the speaker emphasizes her physicality and motion, using active verbs to show she carries, projects, and uses her beauty rather than existing as an admired object.
The speaker’s body is a locus of movement and potential. She notes the “reach of my arms” (Line 6) and the “span of my hips” (Line 7). She goes on to call attention to the animated “swing in my waist” (Line 24), “the arch of my back” (Line 8) and the “ride of my breasts” (Line 40). All of these parts of the body are doing some action, many of which are suggestively sexual. Moreover, the speaker’s body has also not fully expressed its full abilities—it has a “reach” and “span” that invite speculation as to the extent of what she could do. All of this shows that she is not simply posing for aesthetic performance, but participating in living.
The speaker also goes beyond the body, noting her excitement and passion for life. She does not passively engage with the world around her. Rather she greets it with a “stride in my step” (Line 8), “fire in my eyes” (Line 22), and “joy in my feet” (Line 25). This feeling of exuberance explains the “inner mystery” (Line 34) of her appeal to others, and how they may long for the “palm of my hand” (Line 55) and have “need for my care” (Line 56).
Throughout the poem, she is never shown posed, waiting for someone to photograph or assess her. Rather she remains in motion—striving, going forward with a rhythmic “click of my heels” (Line 53). It is this activity that makes her “phenomenal” (Line 59).
The Sublime Phenomenal
The repetition of the words “phenomenal” and “phenomenally” are central to the poem; the former is used five times, once in the title and four more times (Lines 12, 28, 44, 59), while the latter occurs four times (Lines 11, 27, 43, 58). The abundance of the word is used in part to drive home the sentiment that the speaker is, indeed, a marvel—a phenomenon.
Angelou’s speaker also plays with the word’s multiple meanings. Phenomenal could refer to the quality of being remarkable or extraordinary. At the same time, slightly paradoxically, a phenomenon is something that is perceived as real through the senses. Angelou’s speaker emphasizes that she is extraordinary, suggesting that she knows she’s rare or even singular, in contrast to the “pretty women” (Line 1) who mirror fashion trends. “That’s me” (Lines 13, 29, 45, 60), she says proudly. The speaker is also sure that her specialness should be instantly perceived if looked at correctly. In other words, the elements of her face, body, and carriage that she describes should easily account for her appeal; the lists of characteristics in each stanza show readers how to detect and identify the phenomena of her presence and allure.
The poem’s refrain characterizes its speaker as “a woman / Phenomenally” (Lines 11, 27, 43, 58). In other words, she knows how to engage with her femininity exceptionally well—as a woman, she is a phenomenon of self-assurance, sexual appeal, presence, and passion for the world. Taken as a response to standardized beauty in the 1960s and 1970s, this shows that she determined to claim her status as an astonishing person for a new era.
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By Maya Angelou
