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The poem "Phenomenal Woman" was written by Maya Angelou and published in 1995. Throughout Maya Angelou's poems, she gives inspiration to many young men and women. The "Phenomenal Woman" describes how women should be prideful and confident and not care what stereotypical things are said about them as stated here, "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." (Angelou, 47-52). Angelou structures her poems in a way that has a rhythmic flow. She uses rhyming schemes and patterns, lyrical poems, and iambic meters, as shown here, "The span of my hips,/ The stride of my step,/ The curl of my lips." (Angelou, 8-10). There are many things that influenced Angelou into writing so many inspiring works. At a young age, Maya was sexually abused and raped by her mothers boyfriend. She was also a Civil Rights activist. All these events led to Maya Angelou becoming an inspiring and influential writer who impacted many lives.

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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 for my care.

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

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On April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Marguerite Johnson, more commonly known as Maya Angelou was born. After growing up in both St, Louis and Stamps, Arkansas with her mother and stepfather she became a writer and civil rights activist. Tragically during her youth Maya has confessed to have been sexaully assaulted and raped by her mother's boyfriend, this influenced her outlook greatly.  Maya Angelou is known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. Throughout her life she made many incredible achievements, similar to her memoir, for the black community especially, the african-american female community. Angelou received several honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. She died on May 28, 2014.

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Inversion: A reversal or change in the regular word order of a sentence. "I'm a woman,/ Phenomenally./ Phenomenal woman,/ That's me." (Angelou, 11-14). Inversion is similar to repetition. it too emphasizes the meaning of the lines of the poem.
Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verse. "The span of my hips,/ The stride of my step,/ The curl of my lips." The repetition gives the poem a better flow allowing the reader to be more connected.
Alliteration: The repetition of initial constant sounds of several words in a group. "Phenomenally Phenomenal woman." (Angelou, 12-13). Alliteration helps continue the rhythmic structure.
Hyperbole: Is a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. "I've sailed upon the seven seas/
and stopped in every land" (Angelou, 13-14). Hyperbole's allow the reader to see beyond the actual meaning of the poem and allows you to visualize how the writer actually feels.
Imagery: Descriptive language used in literature to recreate sensory experiences relating to sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell. "The variety of our skin tones/ can confuse, bemuse, delight,/ brown and pink and beige and purple,/ tan and blue and white." (Angelou, 9-12).
Rhyme: Words rhyme when the sounds of their accented vowels and all succeeding sounds are identical. "The variety of our skin tones/ can confuse, bemuse, delight,/ brown and pink and beige and purple,/ tan and blue and white." (Angelou, 9-12). The rhyme used here is an end rhyme which occurs at the end of a line.

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Maya Angelou's poem, "Human Family" while published in 1990 within her collection  called "I shall not be moved", can still be interpreted as relevant to both the past and today.  It speaks in a rather understandable manner that explains the common knowledge of all of us being different. Angelou goes into the differences of every person on this earth. She states "but I've not seen any two/who really were the same" (Angelou, 19-20) This is an influential line in the poem, especially considering Maya Angelou's influence and fame throughout her life. With her past as a devote activist of civil rights in the 1960s and support of feminism, and her experiences of discrimination, she describes this world and its differences in a positive light. Despite her focus on the differences she continually reminds the audience that we all despite our differences we are all really alike. She basically explains this in the poem itself "In minor ways we differ,/in major we're the same." (Angelou, 31-32) This quite evident in the final lines of the poem, where she utilizes anaphora and deliberately repeats the lines " We are more alike, my friends,/ than we are unalike." (Angelou, 35-40) All of this really emphasizes the main theme of "Human Family" which could be interpreted to be,that no matter differences between us whether it be nationality, race, gender, or sexaulity, we are all really one singular unit, one human family.

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I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.