Musical Devices in "Woman Work"

Thesis: The shift in the musical nature of Maya Angelou’s poem “Women Work” highlights the speaker’s desire to break out of the monotony of constant toil.

            The musical devices in the first half of “Women Work” starkly contrast those in the second half, demonstrating the discrepancy between the woman’s reality and her desire. The beginning of the poem lists many tasks that the speaker has to complete. For instance, the speaker states, “I’ve got the children to tend / The clothes to mend / The floor to mop / The food to shop” (lines 1-4). Each line introduces a different job, such as mending clothes and mopping the floor. However, the different tasks are linked together with an aabbccddeeffgg rhyme scheme. The end rhymes add to the musical nature of the poem, creating a repetitive sound pattern that mimics the repetitive nature of the jobs that the woman must complete. The lack of punctuation between each element of the list further contributes to the flow of each task into the next. Without commas to break up the list, each job comes right after the previous one without a break. The speaker’s life seems to be defined by the vast and endless amount of work she must complete. Based on references to the “cane to be cut” and “cotton to pick,” the reader can infer that the woman is either a slave or relates to the idea of being a slave (lines 11 and 14). She has no choice but to work. The speaker identifies this obligation, repeating “I’ve got” and “I gotta,” at the beginning of two lines in the list (lines 1 and 12). The use of anaphora not only draws attention to the compulsion to work but also heightens the repetitive nature of the tasks. At line 15, however, the structure changes. The second half of the poem is comprised of four quatrains. The speaker says, “Shine on me, sunshine / Rain on me, rain / Fall softly, dewdrops / And cool my brow again” (lines 15-18). In contrast to the first half of the poem, the second half seems to carry a slower rhythm. First, Angelou begins using approximate end rhymes between the second and fourth lines of each stanza. The increased amount of time between each rhyme represents a slower pace of life than that of the working woman. Secondly, Angelou uses punctuation within lines to break up ideas, such as “Shine on me, sunshine” (line 15). Commas enable the reader to pause and breathe rather than plow right through the entire poem. The speaker wishes for nature to give her a reprieve from all of her work. By shifting the structure and musical devices in the poem, Angelou contrasts the woman’s reality with her longing to rest.