Previous Next

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

“Phenomenal”

Phenomenal is a key word in Angelou’s poem. Most obviously, it’s a part of the poem’s title, but it also appears several times throughout the text itself. In fact, the word appears eight times in the poem, two times each in the refrain that closes every stanza (lines 10–13, 26–29, 42–45, and 57–60):

     I’m a woman
     Phenomenally.
     Phenomenal woman,
     That’s me.

The word “phenomenal” has two meanings, and the speaker references both. On the one hand, the word refers to the appearances of things and to our perception of them. This is the word’s technical definition, which the speaker references by insisting that folks who don’t understand the source of her allure need only look at the way she carries herself. Her way of embodying femininity is an observable phenomenon that others can perceive if only they open their eyes. On the other hand, phenomenal can be used as a synonym for “remarkable” or “exceptional.” This is the word’s more colloquial meaning, and it has a strong, celebratory connotation. The speaker references this meaning of the word in the overall pride of her tone. She also references it in her implication that, contrary to women who are merely “pretty” (line 1), she embodies femininity in an exceptional, even ideal way.

Body Parts

In each of the poem’s four stanzas, the speaker draws attention to different parts of her body as she explains the source of her feminine allure. Significantly, the speaker doesn’t emphasize what each of these body parts looks like. Instead of focusing on the appearance of her physical form, she highlights the way she carries herself. In the second stanza, for instance, she locates the source of her mystique in the following way:

     It’s the fire in my eyes,
     And the flash of my teeth,
     The swing in my waist,
     And the joy in my feet.

Each of these lines (lines 21–25) highlights a particular feature of the speaker’s body. In every case, however, the speaker emphasizes not the body part itself, but a certain quality that animates it. Her eyes burn with a passionate fire, and a wry grin reveals the glinting of her teeth. Meanwhile, her hips sway in a prideful stride, and her feet step confidently in an exuberant dance. The speaker opens the poem by implying that her physical appearance doesn’t fit the typical profile society expects for a “pretty” woman. Even so, she has learned to embody her femininity in a deeply alluring way.

Previous section Themes Next section Symbols

Take a Study Break