Analyzing Poetry: Girl on Fire & Phenomenal Woman - Embracing Power, Overcoming Mistakes, Schemes and Mind Maps of Poetry

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Poetry Analysis and

comparison

Theme-You are powerful and can rise above past

mistakes to become what you want to be

Girl on fire

She's just a girl, and she's on fire She’s hotter than a fantasy, longer like a highway She's living in a world, and it's on fire Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away

Oh, she got both feet on the ground And she's

Metaphor-comparing the girl to fire. She is powerful and overwhelming

Metaphor and simile- she is beautiful and will keep going no matter what

Idiom-She is realistic

She is a dreamer

This stanza appears to be a paradox because she is both realistic and a dreamer. The truth is she can Be both and she’s not backing down. She will be who she wants to be, not what other people want her to be

She's living in a world, and it's on fire Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away

Oh, she got both feet on the ground And she's burning it down Oh, she got her head in the clouds And she's not backing down

Fire work

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep? Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing Do you know that there's still a chance for you 'Cause there's a spark in you?

Simile-comparing you to a plastic bag- being used and going any direction That the wind can take you

Simile-comparing you to a house of cards-weak and at the mercy of others?

Metaphor-your feelings to being buried alive. Do you feel as if nobody understands how trapped you feel?

Symbolism-spark represents the potential to ignite and become powerful

Phenomenal Woman

Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say, It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman, That's me.

She is not a Conventional Beauty but her On the outside But how she carries herself and feels about herself makes her attractive

She uses repetition of the words “phenomenal” and “woman” to stress her power

Comparison

Theme-You are powerful and can rise above past mistakes to become who you want to be

In the song, Girl on Fire , Keys also uses the metaphor of fire to demonstrate the power of burning the past to ashes and moving on.

In the poem, Phenomenal Woman, Angelou essentially gives the same message and uses metaphor of people swarming around her like bees because of her potential and power

In the song, Firework , Perry, uses metaphor by comparing the person to a firework meaning that he/she is not powerless but has the potential to be powerful

contrast

Figurative

language

In the song, Girl on Fir e, Keys uses the paradox of images contrasting the idea of keeping your feet on the ground while having your head in the clouds. By using the paradox, Keys conveys the message that it is okay to be both practical and a dreamer at the same time. This lends support to Keys’ theme of fire being powerful and desttuctive.

In the song, Firework , Perry uses the symbol of fire differently than Keys. In Firework, Perry evokes the spark and blaze of a firework as more potential than as a destructive force. Her tone is more supportive and encouraging than Key’s in your face kind of power. In the poem , Phenomenal Woman , Angelou doesn’t rely only on the reference of fire to show her power. Unlike Keys and Perry, Angelou relies more on imagery and movement to illustrate her power. In addition, Angelou’s purpose is to tell how she feels powerful not in an encouraging tone like Perry or a destructive tone like Keys.