“Woman Work” p. 485 By Maya Angelou
I. Literary Terms:
Define the following terms (page 1133):
1. Catalog Poem:
2. Apostrophe:
3. Repetition:
II. Analysis of the Poem:
Stanza 1 / Paraphrase the lines.I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The cane to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.
Stanza 2 / Paraphrase the lines.
Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.
Stanza 3 / Paraphrase the lines.
Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again.
Stanza 4 / Paraphrase the lines.
Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.
Stanza 5 / Paraphrase the lines.
Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own.
III. Thinking Critically (Answer these questions on the back of this handout)
1. How would you describe the tone of this poem? Is it complaining? bitter? angry? accepting? loving? Cite details from the poem to explain your answer.
2. Where is the apostrophe in this poem? What does the speaker address?
3. Name the theme of the poem. How does the use of repetition contribute to the theme?
4. Cite the personification in the poem.
5. Explain the meaning of the last line of the poem.
6. This poem was written by a woman about her daily work. If the poem had been written by men and was called “Man Work,” how might it be different?