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Maya Angelou Figurative Language

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How and to what extent does the figurative language in some of Maya Angelou’s poems reveal the plight of Black women and the effects it has on them? The literary works of Maya Angelou explore a broad range of issues, including the difficulties faced by Black people. Several of her poems immerse the reader in the harsh realities of Black women revealing the injustices faced by different genders within a race. “Woman Work” and “When I Think About Myself” both depict the lifestyle of a female African-American speaker. Figurative language works to highlight the plight of the speaker, eliciting feelings of sympathy in the readers and prompting them to reconsider and question the lack of equality that exists in society. The visual Imagery of fieldwork …show more content…

Finally, the hyperbole and weather imagery evoke even more sympathy for the reader as the Black woman's emotional suffering is underlined, helping the reader perceive the oppression that leads to additional oppression. Within the poems, the imagery associated with fieldwork reveals the oppressive state of the Black speaker and the syntax helps highlight how the speaker has come to accept racial discrimination. This provokes feelings of sympathy as readers reconsider the lack of equality between races that is present in society. The speaker alludes to the enslavement she is going through as she mentions the long list of duties she is required to perform everyday. Within this long list, the Black woman is also required to work on the fields where she has the “cane to cut” (Woman Work 11) and “cotton to pick” (Woman Work 14). This imagery of the Black woman working in the fields is an allusion to bring light to the woman being a slave. This creates feelings of sympathy as readers visualize the extensive …show more content…

This creates sympathy for the reader as they see how physical oppression leads to victims being emotionally affected. The speaker finds amusement in her oppressed lifestyle. The speaker talks about the social injustice in her life and laughs herself “to death” and until she “almost choke[s]” (When I Think About Myself) at the state of her life. The hyperbole effectively connects laughter to various forms of pain and sorrow to make readers feel sympathetic. This hyperbole reveals to the readers the helpless and emotionally distraught state of the Black woman as she masks the pain and suffering through obscure amounts of laughter to move on in her life. The speaker’s exhausting lifestyle has caused her life to be abnormal where she finds happiness in the smallest things. The speaker believes that “her life is a big joke” and provides examples by stating that it's like“a dance that’s walked,/[a] song that’s spoke” (When I Think About Myself 2-4). The metaphor creates a sympathetic feeling for the reader as it emphasizes the degree to which the Black woman’s life has been reduced as forms of happiness like dancing and singing have been reduced to walking and speaking. The Black woman faces various injustices that she has thoughts of dying rather than living. After revealing her list of

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