Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Woman Work' | English | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Match each word to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- sexism
  
  ⇔
  
  unjust treatment of someone based on their sex ✓
- racism
  
  ⇔
  
  unjust treatment on the basis of the colour of your skin ✓
- oppression
  
  ⇔
  
  unjust treatment, and the limiting of power, of an individual or group ✓
- discrimination
  
  ⇔
  
  unjust treatment of people based on a certain category e.g. ethnicity ✓
What is the term for the attitude of emotion of your voice? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- figurative language
- refrain
- tone ✓
- method
- assertive
How might we describe the speaker's tone in Maya Angelou's 'Phenomenal Woman'? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- pessimistic
- oppressive
- uplifting ✓
- assertive
- aggressive
In 'Phenomenal Woman', how does the speaker think we should feel if we see her walking around? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- "phenomenal"
- "proud" ✓
- "bowed"
- "pretty"
- "cool"
Match each poem to its focus ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- 'Phenomenal Woman'
  
  ⇔
  
  an assertive speaker explains why she is so fantastic ✓
- 'Still I Rise'
  
  ⇔
  
  despite being treated like "dirt", she will overcome oppression ✓
- 'Caged Bird'
  
  ⇔
  
  Angelou uses an extended metaphor to explore freedom and oppression ✓
- 'Equality'
  
  ⇔
  
  a speaker demands justice so she can be "free" ✓
- 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me'
  
  ⇔
  
  a speaker lists many things that she is not scared of and tells us why ✓
What was Maya Angelou's third volume of poetry called? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 'Phenomenal Woman'
- 'Equality'
- 'And Still I Rise' ✓
- 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'
- 'Caged Bird'

Exit quiz

Maya Angelou wrote a poem called '______ Work'. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 'Woman' ✓
Match these words to their definitions ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
- structure
  
  ⇔
  
  how something is put together; how it is organised and arranged ✓
- tone
  
  ⇔
  
  the attitude of emotion of your voice - written or verbal ✓
- analysis
  
  ⇔
  
  to look at a writer's work carefully and make a comment on it ✓
When exploring the structure of a poem, what might be one of your first steps? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- to consider if the poet has used metaphorical language
- to consider if the poet has used first, second or third person
- to consider the focus and tone at the beginning compared to the end ✓
- to consider things the writer did in their lifetime
- to consider how often the speaker uses pronouns
Starting with the first, put these Maya Angelou poems in the order they were first published. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  'Still I Rise', 'Phenomenal Woman', 'Woman Work'
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  'Caged Bird'
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  'Equality'
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'
Which sentences use the word resilient correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- most of Angelou's poems are resilient
- Angelou often presents resilient speakers who have experienced hardship ✓
- the most resilient of Angelou's poems are the ones with refrains
- Angelou experienced racism and sexism but remained resilient ✓
Which sentences use the word grace correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
- I am grace when I need to be – even when I am close to losing my cool.
- Despite being made fun of, she walked across the room with grace and dignity. ✓
- I tried to accept the result with grace, but I was shaking with anger. ✓
- I wanted to enter the room with grace, but I ended up tripping over. ✓

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

Presenting the experiences of women, particularly Black women, was very important to Angelou.
Many of Angelou's poems explore sexist attitudes, whilst also observing women's resilience despite this discrimination.
'Woman Work' sees a Black woman explain how she has to complete hard, manual labour for no reward.
When exploring a poem’s structure, a good place to start can be to compare its beginning to its end.
In this way, you can consider any shifts in tone from the beginning to the end of the poem.

Common misconception

Comparing a poem's beginning and end doesn't count as analysis. It's too simple to be interesting.

At its most basic (and often most powerful), a text's structure is its beginning, middle and end. Commenting on the journey - emotional or physical - that a writer has taken us on is a great way to start exploring structure.

Keywords

Structure - how something is put together; how it is organised and arranged
Resilience - being able to cope, withstand and recover from difficult physical or mental challenge
Grace - elegance, dignity, poise, self-possession
Analysis - in English, to look at a writer’s work carefully and make a comment on why it was written in that way
Tone - the attitude of emotion of your voice - written or verbal