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“Phenomenal Woman” consists of four stanzas of unequal length. Though differing slightly in the number of lines, each stanza has a similar internal structure, broken loosely into three sections. The first section introduces some kind of question or problem related to the source of the speaker’s mystique. The second section responds by locating the source in various aspects of her body or comportment. The third section is identical for all four stanzas, each of which ends with the same quatrain. As an example of how this stanza structure plays out, consider the opening stanza. The first section of this stanza discusses how “pretty women” have a hard time understanding where the speaker’s attractiveness comes from, given that she isn’t thin like a fashion model. In the second section, the speaker describes how the secret of her self-confidence lies in how she carries her body, rather than in just how her body looks (lines 6–9):

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

The stanza then concludes with the repeating quatrain, in which the speaker conclusively identifies herself as a “phenomenal woman.”

The internal structure of each stanza takes the form of a miniature argument. That is, in each case the speaker sets up a problem, offers a solution to the problem, then concludes by affirming a general truth that follows logically from her solution. Taken as a whole, the poem has a very similar, argumentative structure. The first three stanzas each address distinct issues related to the source of the speaker’s beauty and self-confidence. In the fourth stanza, however, the speaker doesn’t introduce another issue. Instead, she uses language best suited to the conclusion of an argument: “Now you understand / Just why my head’s not bowed” (lines 46–47). The poem as a whole could therefore be outlined as follows:

     Stanza 1: pretty women envy me
     Stanza 2: men swarm around me
     Stanza 3: men are baffled by my mystique
     Stanza 4: therefore, I don’t bow my head in insecurity

Seen in this way, the entire poem follows the structure of an argument. The speaker convinces us readers that the source of her mystique lies in her self-confident attitude. Furthermore, because others react positively to her projection of self-confidence, there’s no need to act insecure.

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