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Woman Work Maya Angelou
Woman Work I've got the children to tendThe clothes to mendThe floor to mopThe food to shopThen the chicken to fryThe baby to dryI got company to feedThe garden to weedI've got shirts to pressThe tots to dressThe can to be cutI gotta clean up this hutThen see about the sickAnd the cotton to pick.Shine on me, sunshineRain on me, rainFall softly, dewdropsAnd cool my brow again.Storm, blow me from hereWith your fiercest windLet me float across the sky'Til I can rest again.Fall gently, snowflakesCover me with whiteCold icy kisses andLet me rest tonight.Sun, rain, curving skyMountain, oceans, leaf and stoneStar shine, moon glowYou're all that I can call my own.
Diction • The diction used within the first stanza differs from that used in the rest of them. • In the first stanza Angelou writes in a list form and she uses broken language such as, “gotta.” The laziness of the grammar also relates to the fact that women were not educated and only worked. • Words such as, “shop,” “fry,” “dry,” “feed,” “press,” and “dress” describe how hard the speaker works on a daily basis. It reveals that women are hard workers.
Imagery • This poem drips with imagery literally, “Rain on me, rain…Fall softly, dewdrops.” • There is a lot of imagery used when describing the work life of the women
Details • The title “Woman Work reveals what is to come in the poem. Angelou’s use of rhyme could represent the rhythm and repetition of the everyday life of a woman.
Language • Not only are there shifts from the different stanzas there is a shift between the language. • During the first stanza the final three stanzas contain more educated speech. It shows that the woman has more to do than just work.
Structure • Throughout this poem there are shifts that occur. • Within the first stanza the speaker begins to list many things that she is responsible for as a woman. In the next three stanzas she then makes references to nature and begs to be relieved from her work.
