Phenomenal Woman
In this post, we celebrate International Women's Day with a poem by the phenomenal Maya Angelou. We also look at different ways to say that something is fantastic.
Hello, I’m Mandeep. Welcome to my Watch and Learn English substack. My aim is to teach “real-life” English using videos and topics that are in the news.
Video of the week
On Friday 8th March, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. It’s a time to celebrate women’s achievements and fight for gender equality.
In honour of this, we’re going to study a poem by Maya Angelou, the famous American writer and civil rights activist. The poem is called “Phenomenal Woman” and it describes a woman who is incredible because of her strength and confidence.
Before you listen to the poem, take a look at the first two lines to get an idea of some of the ways that Maya Angelou chooses very specific words to give them power and get her message across.
Read these two lines out loud and try to find the rhythm and rhyme:
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
Can you see how a ‘w’ sound is repeated in women, wonder and where? This is called alliteration. Also, a ‘t’ sound is repeated in ‘pretty, secret, cute, built and suit’. When consonants, like ‘t’, are repeated but with different vowel sounds, this is called consonance. The alliteration and consonance help us feel the rhythm when we read.
Of course, there are rhymes or words that sound the same too. At the end of the sentence (lies and size) but also in the middle (cute and suit). It’s interesting that the words that rhyme are all linked to the same idea - what some people think is important for a woman but what Maya Angelou doesn’t think matters.
First Watch: Learning
Click the image below to watch the video with clear, correct captions (not auto-generated), definitions for the key vocabulary, and an option to slow the video down to help you catch every word.
What did you think of the poem?
When I hear all the physical ways she describes herself ‘the reach of my arms, / The span of my hips, / The stride of my step, / The curl of my lips’ I can almost picture this confident, powerful woman walking down the street!
If you like poetry, you might find this other post I published interesting.
In the next section, we’ll learn a little more about Maya Angelou and some of the inspirational things she did.
In the comments, tell me about a woman in your life who is phenomenal!
Wonderful words
Today’s language point is on synonyms. In particular, synonyms for the word phenomenal.
What are synonyms?
Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings. For example, a synonym of beautiful is gorgeous, both words mean the same thing even though they’re different.
Why do we use synonyms?
There are two main reasons for using synonyms:
Synonyms can improve your word choice or let you choose the single best word for exactly what you want to say.
Synonyms stop you from using the same word again and again.
The poem today was called Phenomenal Woman, so let’s take a deeper look at the woman who wrote it, Maya Angelou. I’ll use synonyms for phenomenal - which means “amazing” - to describe how fantastic she really was!
Read along while you listen.
Maya Angelou had an exceptional life, marked by extraordinary achievements. Born in 1928, she faced numerous challenges in her early years but demonstrated remarkable resilience and talent. Despite the adversity she encountered, Angelou became an outstanding figure in literature, poetry, and civil rights activism.
Her journey was nothing short of astonishing. From a troubled childhood, Angelou rose to become the first female African American streetcar conductor in San Francisco, breaking barriers and paving the way for others.
Angelou's literary works are magnificent, capturing the essence of the human experience with stunning clarity and depth. Her poetry and prose continue to resonate with readers around the world, inspiring hope and empowerment.
Throughout her life, Angelou used her platform to advocate for justice and equality, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to influence generations. Her impact on literature, culture, and society is undeniable, making her memory one that will forever be cherished and celebrated.
Second Watch: Testing
Now you can watch Phenomenal Woman again, but in “quiz” mode!
As you watch, you need to choose the correct word to make the sentence. This will test how well you remember the key vocabulary from the video.
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Good material to learn English, thank you for your work, your dedication and your time.