and West African Fanti. And many of her poems can inspire people today. Knowing something about Angelou’s life can help one to understand her poetry. In one of Angelou’s poems, “Unmeasured Tempo”, she talks about a person’s life. How mind and body do not reach their apex at the same time. By the time a person gets old enough to have a spiritual realization of who they are their body is already declining (Angelou 11).This poem is written in blank verse. It does not have any rhyme or rhythm. Yet it does use figurative language. For example, the simile, “Dreams are petted like cherished lap dogs”. This poem is complex and makes the reader look for the deeper meaning in the poem (Angelou 11). Another one of Angelou’s poems is “Little Girl Speakings” where she once again writes autobiographically. It’s a comparative poem about the things important to Angelou in her childhood. She is explaining to one of her peers that she has the best parents and the best toys(Angelou 65). There are a lot of literary devices used in this poem. The two most obvious ones are slang and repetition. The phrases “Ain’t nobody better’s my daddy”, “Ain’t nothing prettier’n my dollie”, and “No lady cookinger than my mommy” are repeated in this poem (Angelou 65). The rhyme scheme, ABBA, is simple yet unusual. There are many words that rhyme like quauter and daughter, said and head, and pie and lie (Angelou 65). A third and final poem of Angelou’s is “ Avec Merci, Mother” (“avec” means “with” in French). This poem uses very simple language, but it is very complicated. The subject seems to change in the middle of the poem. She first talks about her mother being this perfect beauty who was polite and adored. And then it talks abo...
