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 not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size But when I start to tell them, They think I’m telling lies. Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. In “ Phenomenal Woman,” Maya Angelou explains what makes her a powerful woman, even if it isn’t what society deems “pretty.” I have gone out, a possessed witch, haunting the black air, braver at night dreaming evil, I have done my hitch over the plain houses, light by light: lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind. Known for her highly personal verses, Anne Sexton honors the women who don’t quite fit into society’s molds in “ Her Kind.” I have been woman for a long time beware my smile I am treacherous with old magic and the noon’s new fury with all your wide futures promised I am woman and not white. In “ A Woman Speaks,” Audre Lorde explores the inconsistencies in how black women are viewed and treated, as well as her own struggle to define her identity on her own terms.
#Death peace death maya angelou poems full#
This poem may be short, offers an important reminder to young girls amidst the confusion of puberty and society’s expectations: “the world begins & ends when you say so.”Ĭheck out the full poem here. This poem is from Lovelace’s collection, The Princess Saves Herself in This One. “What They Don’t Want You to Know” by Amanda Lovelace He wants only the simple things: a chair, someone to pull off his shoes, someone to watch him while he talks, with admiration and fear, gratitude if possible, someone in whom to plunge himself for rest and renewal.
Afterwards he goes to the refrigerator and cleans up the leftovers, though he does not wipe up what he accidentally spills. Toward the end of the poem, Atwood brings us back to the present, portraying the hangman as a modern husband. There is only a death, indefinitely postponed. But at the present time there is no hangman thus there is no escape. A man may escape this death by becoming the hangman, a woman by marrying the hangman. She has been condemned to death by hanging. She starts the poem by explaining an old law that allowed condemned prisoners to avoid execution by becoming a hangman (if the prisoner was a man) or marrying him (if the prisoner was a woman): The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood mixes feminism with a history lesson in “Marrying the Hangman.” “Marrying the Hangman” by Margaret Atwood So great’s thy glory, and thine excellence, The sound thereof raps every human sense That men account it no impiety To say thou wert a fleshly Deity. The poem praises England’s Queen Elizabeth, whom she sees as the ideal of a strong, independent woman, as evidenced in this excerpt:Īlthough great Queen, thou now in silence lie, Yet thy loud Herald Fame, doth to the sky Thy wondrous worth proclaim, in every clime, And so has vow’d, whilst there is world or time.
“ In Honour of That High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth” was written by Anne Bradstreet, the first female English-speaking poet to be published. “In Honour of That High and Mighty Princess, Queen Elizabeth,” by Anne Bradstreet Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air. In the final stanzas, she predicts a third brush with death, out of which she will rise like a phoenix: In the case of “Lady Lazarus,” Plath could be illustrating the female artist’s struggle for autonomy in a male-dominated world. Many of Plath’s poems describe her lifelong struggles with depression, but can also be analyzed through a feminist lens. In it, she references two near-death experiences from her youth-one a swimming accident, the other an attempted suicide. “Lady Lazarus” was written by Sylvia Plath in the fall of 1962. You can read the full poem here, or enjoy the video below, featuring tennis champion Serena Williams reciting Angelou’s famous poem. You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.ĭoes my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room. It champions womanhood, sexuality, and rising above oppression, as we can see in this excerpt:
“Still I Rise” was written by the iconic Maya Angelou in 1978. These 14 poems offer reflections on the female experience and the strength of women. The feminist movements have been no exception, with talents such as Maya Angelou and Sylvia Plath using their pens to offer deep reflections and pose thought-provoking questions to their readers. This might be why it has been a favorite of social activists looking to speak out and inspire change. Poetry is perhaps one of the most personal forms of art, as it allows writers the ultimate freedom to express their creativity.
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