POETRY ESSAY PROMPT AND THEN, WELL, ESSAY!

The prompt I chose to write my essay for the poetry "Woman Work" is: Read the poem carefully and then write an essay in which you analyze how the poem reveals the speaker's complex conception of a "woman's world." This prompt was in 1998 AP Exam.

I believed this prompt to be perfect for the poem I chose because they both [poem and the prompt] not only talk about the stereotypical world of women around the world but somehow encourage the readers to find evidence that proves the "world" to be a misconception. The prompt also focuses on discovering a "solution" to the "problem" about the work that women do.

MY ESSAY:

            Who is a woman? A mother. A cook. A cleaner. A maid. A housewife. Maybe even a slave. The duties of a woman have been specifically stated in the “Bible” of society. Ever since the establishment of human race, women were believed to be the workers of the house. In “Woman Work” by Maya Angelou, Angelou describes the contradictory personalities between the expected woman and a true woman by using metaphors, fragmentation, personification, and point of view. With the use of each of these literary elements, Angelou creates a sense of guilt in the readers’ minds and evokes the feelings of sympathy and empathy for the protagonist woman of the poem.

            Beginning the poem with a long list of chores that the woman has to perform, Angelou sets the mood to be busy and rapid. The first person point of view allows the readers to have the sense of identification towards the protagonist. The over simplistic manner in which the author lists all the duties is a dichotomy to the motif of the poem, which is the complexity of a woman’s character and her world – where she is tired yet has not done physically challenging works; she is bored yet she is busy almost the entire day; she seeks love and appreciation but finds nobody around her to provide it to her; she seems and is expected to be contended yet finds herself to be searching for a smile, a place to rest, and a sense of beautification.

            The woman of the poem can be characterized as a complete yet an incomplete woman. The two definitions of the two women are visible from the comprehensiveness of the first stanza of the poem versus the fragmentation of the last stanza: “Sun, rain, curving sky / Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone /star shine, moon glow / You’re all that I can call my own.” Angelou uses the nature and its “inhabitants” – sun, moon, stars – as metaphors for the family members of the woman that she has been searching for but never seems to find them: “Shine on me, sunshine / Rain on me, rain / Fall softly, dewdrops / And cool my brow again.” This metaphor becomes even more powerful when the author uses personification to bring the nature to life: “Fall gently, snowflakes / Cover me with white / Cold icy kisses and / Let me rest tonight.” The repetition of “Let me rest tonight” gives the readers the impression of an emotionally tired yet a physically active woman.

            The author’s utilization of her tone and the first person perspective results in an analytic and deep poem with one single protagonist juxtaposing the complexity of her life and her own desires. The author highlights a “woman’s world” through highlighting her work. The societal inability to comprehend a woman’s desires and the intricacy involved to lead such a life is implicitly addressed through the use of nature as the only supporter of the protagonist. A woman is much more than a mother, a cook, a cleaner, a maid, a housewife, or a slave. She is strength, she is power, she is intelligent, and she is capable: she only needs, wants, and asks for love and support.