Woman Work by Kay Nguyen [FVHS]

SIFT 9 - Theme

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 00:00:56 UTC

The theme of "Woman Work" involves the idea of how hard women work. This is because the poem explains the obstacles and labor women used to constantly face. All of the household chores that the woman was required to do was very difficult, however, she found relief in looking to nature.

SIFT 10 - Title

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 00:13:40 UTC

The title "Woman Work" is significant because it explains the hardships many women used to face. Along with taking care of household needs, women were expected to support the family and earn money.

SIFT 4 - Symbols

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 04:03:19 UTC

Many of the symbols involved in this poem deal with nature and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. For example, as the speaker says "shine on me sunshine," this can symbolize wanting a better life and receiving good things. When it says "fall softly, dewdrops (referring to the rain)," the rain can represent the bad times and wishing for them to not affect her as much. Similar to the "dewdrops," "fall gently, snowflakes" can refer to having an easier life. In the last stanza where it states:

"Sun, rain, curving sky

Mountains, oceans, leaf and stone,

Star shine, moon glow

You're all that I can call my own,"

the speaker is referring to nature as her life-- the ups and downs and the positives and negatives.

SIFT 5 - Summarize

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 04:14:22 UTC

The poem "Woman Work" by Maya Angelou tells the story of a woman that spends her life constantly working and looks to nature as a guide. The speaker of the poem is required to tedious and hard every day tasks including: tending to the children, working in a garden and fields, cleaning the house, shopping, cooking, sewing and pressing clothes, and more. However, the topic of nature meets these difficult tasks to illustrate the idea of nature keeping her at bay and relaxed.

SIFT 6 - Imagery

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 04:18:51 UTC

There are a few examples of imagery scattered around the poem. In the first stanza as the speaker is describing her daily tasks, she verbs to paint the picture of what is happening and how it looks ("garden to weed," "baby to dry," "floor to mop," and more). Additionally, the other half of the poem in which nature is being described uses a lot of visual imagery. Examples of this include: "fall softly, dewdrops," "star shine, moon glow," and more. Moreover, the line "cover me with white, cold icy kisses" provides not only a visual reference, but also a sense of feeling.

SIFT 7 - Figurative Language

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 05:33:20 UTC

The first half of the poem alludes to the hard
labor that almost all women did back then (and some now) in the
1800's, when slavery was still prevalent--this is corroborated by one of
her duties as being "picking cotton", along with other obsolete objects. The other half of the poem shows the (female) narrator disregarding nature's fury on her, as long as it makes her at peace. This shows that women are resilient to the assaults of both nature and responsibility.

SIFT 8 - Tone

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-12 05:40:02 UTC

The narrator presents her toils in a way that simultaneously attempts to intimidate the reader and gain their sympathy regarding the (almost) insurmountable amount of work she has--the audience will most likely rethink their opinion on the capabilities of females.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-16 23:32:13 UTC

The poem talks about a woman that does chores and jobs. This relates to many of the women in history. The poem's setting is most likely in the South, where women had few rights and most did chores at home. It wasn't till the mid 19th century where women could vote or have occupations that were exclusively for men. Overall, this poem speaks about the life of woman in history.

CURRENT SOCIETY

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-17 00:26:16 UTC

In today's society, women have the same rights as men. However, in the poem, it talks about a woman spending her time doing chores. Nowadays, women have a choice on what job they would like.

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-17 00:30:06 UTC

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-17 00:31:25 UTC

SIFT 1 - Structure

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:21:22 UTC

This poem is a catalog poem, and it contains 30 lines.

SIFT 2 - Sound Devices

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:22:42 UTC

Some sound devices noticed in this poem include the

use of couplets. It has a regular rhyme pattern. The

author draws attention to specific words to emphasize

all the work she has to do, or in other words emphasizes/shows

that she is hardworking.

SIFT 3 - Speaker

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:23:56 UTC

The specific speaker of this poem is

Maya Angelou (the author). She is talking

about herself, and the work she does. It is

from her point of view, and there is a

general audience

WOMAN WORK

kmnguyen114 — 2015-02-18 03:53:32 UTC

I've got the children to tend

The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The can to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own.