Topic > Comparison of Poems: “Sadie and Maud” and “Phenomenal Woman”

The poems of Angelou and Brooks show how manipulation of rhyme scheme and alliteration can influence the tone of the poem, as well as the personality of each figure . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "Sadie and Maud" is a coherent rhyming poem, with 5 stanzas consisting of 5 lines each. The uniformity of this format helps the rhythm of the poem flow consistently throughout. The poem illustrates Sadie's life much more significantly than Maud's, evidenced in the structure of the poem: 15 lines deal with Sadie's life and only 5 deal with Maud's life. Besides the imbalance in the distribution of lines between the girls, the poem is structured similarly to that of a painting. The “frame,” or Maud, is the focus at the beginning and end. However, it is the image that creates and captures the interest, not the frame, and Sadie's story is the “image”. Sadie is perceived as interesting and lively, while Maud is seen only peripherally, without any lasting interest. The title "Sadie and Maud" illustrates this well. “Phenomenal Woman” rhymes freely with four verses. Since it is a lyric poem, the rhythm and meter vary, as shown in lines 3 and 4, "But when I start to tell them, / They think I'm telling lies." The rhythm is iambic, as also shown in line 9 in Sadie and Maud – “Sadie bore two babies”. The rhyme scheme in “Sadie and Maud” has a consistent “abcb” structure, which gives the poem a controlled and calm feel. . At the beginning of stanza 3, an internal rhyme places emphasis on the statement by altering the rhythm of the piece in line 9. This is different from Phenomenal Woman, which does not contain a consistent rhyme scheme. Alliteration is common in both poems and is used to convey the emotion of the character. For example, in Sadie and Maud, the repetition of the 's' sound and the long 'e' is often found when talking about Sadie. It helps emphasize his playful and carefree nature. In contrast, Brooks intentionally uses minimalist alliteration in the lines relating to Maud to convey a more formal tone. The use of the “l” sound in the penultimate line of the poem is slow and dark, relating to the character of Maud. Likewise, Angelou uses alliteration and assonance to convey the tone in which the poem should be read. In the phrase “Pretty Women Wonder Where” the consonant 'w' is repeated, creating a breathy sound to imitate feminine charm. “the sun of my smile” is another example, where the “s” sound is used to create a pleasant, calm tone. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay To conclude, there are many similarities in the structural elements, the tone varies in each poem. Throughout “Phenomenal Woman” the speaker is confident and certain of her worth and beauty. She is sensual, she recognizes her appeal to men, but she is also jubilant in celebrating female empowerment. In comparison, “Sadie and Maud” illustrates how society shuns women like Sadie.