/ Weakened by my soulful cries." (Angelou, 7)

Thus, the overall message of the poem is not very different from that of the first text, Phenomenal Woman. Again, the writer celebrates her own self as an emblematic image of the entire people. Pride and self-esteem are the major ingredients in the writer's cogent and powerful discourse. She declares her haughtiness and the pleasure she takes in her own self, suggesting that she is so proud that she might even attract the envy of the others: "Does my haughtiness offend you? / Don't you take it awful hard / 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines / Diggin' in my own back yard." (Angelou, 7) the extreme optimism and mirth that animates the state of the spirit of the author could lead the audience to believe that she has very special reasons to feel this privileged. However, the comparison with...
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