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Chiasmus

The term chiasmus (kee-YASS-muhs) derives from the Greek word for the letter X, and it means “crossover.” In literature, chiasmus name a rhetorical figure in which two sequential phrases or clauses share the same syntax but reverse the order of elements. Chiasmus can be used to various effects, but it often functions as a special kind of emphasis. Since chiasmus involves repetition, it creates emphasis simply through reiteration. However, the reversal of terms involved in chiasmus also creates repetition with a difference. By emphasizing an alternative arrangement of the terms involved, the use of chiasmus indicates the need to consider a single issue or idea from multiple angles. In “Phenomenal Woman,” chiasmus shows up in the quatrain that repeats at the end of every stanza (lines 10–13, 26–29, 42–45, and 57–60):

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

Each pair of lines in this quatrain communicates the same basic idea using the same basic terms. However, the order of terms is reversed, which results in two different uses of the same word, first as an adverb (i.e., “phenomenally”) and second as an adjective (i.e., “phenomenal”). Essentially, the speaker makes the same point twice, in two different ways, fully driving home the point that she’s an ideal woman.

Refrain

In poetry, the term refrain refers to any word, phrase, line, or group of lines that gets repeated over the course of a poem. The repeated material may appear with slight changes each time it occurs, and it usually comes at the end of each stanza. This is precisely what happens in “Phenomenal Woman,” where the speaker closes each of the poem’s four stanzas with a quatrain that emphasizes her “phenomenal” embodiment of femininity. Refrains are common in ballads as well as in songs, where the refrain is usually called a chorus. In these forms, as in Angelou’s poem, the refrain serves the purpose of underscoring a major theme. Repeating the main idea of the poem or song again and again makes the overall message easier to grasp for the reader or listener. In the case of “Phenomenal Woman,” the refrain not only underscores the speaker’s sense of pride and self-confidence, but it also more subtly emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance. The speaker’s ultimate point is that any woman, whether or not she is conventionally “pretty,” can be a phenomenal woman.

Asyndeton

The speaker of “Phenomenal Woman” uses asyndeton at several points in the poem. The term asyndeton (ay-SIN-deh-tahn) is Greek for “unconnected,” and it refers to a technique that involves the omission of conjunctions between words, clauses, or phrases. This kind of omission has a shortening effect, and it conveys emphasis through concision. The speaker of Angelou’s poem uses asyndeton in the part of each stanza where she lists the parts of herself that exude her phenomenal womanhood. For instance, in response to the “pretty women” who “wonder where [her] secret lies” (line 1), the speaker says:

     It’s in the reach of my arms,
     The span of my hips,
     The stride of my step,
     The curl of my lips.

In these lines (lines 6–9), the use of asyndeton lies in the omission of the word “and” before the final line. In ordinary prose, a list like this would require a coordinating conjunction before the final item in the list. Here, though, the speaker opts to avoid unnecessarily lengthening the third line of the passage. This decision preserves the parallel structure of the lines and conveys information more concisely.

Metaphor

In the poem’s second stanza, the speaker develops a metaphor that likens the men who are attracted to her to honeybees. The speaker explains that many men desire her, and that they follow her around, competing for her attention. She compares their actions to swarming bees: “Then they swarm around me, / A hive of honey bees” (lines 19–20). The metaphor of the honey hive has a strongly sexual connotation. Indeed, honey often appears as a symbol for female sexuality, and particularly for female genitalia. Consider the related term, honeypot, which in slang use can either be a pet name for a beloved or else a synonym for “vagina.” In this case, then, the male bees swarm around their queen in a frenzy of irrepressible sexual energy. Furthermore, if the men are honeybees, then according to the speaker’s own metaphor, she is the queen bee, with command over the hive. In this regard, the metaphor underscores more than just the speaker’s self-assured sexuality; it also discloses the sense of power she enjoys holding over her male admirers.

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