Woman

“She wanted to be a blade of grass amid the fields but he wouldn’t agree to be the dandelion”.  In the poem “Woman” Nikki Giovanni, highlights the significance of women and their role in ones life. The audience Giovanni speaks to would be society in general. This behavior is very common amongst various male and female relationships. The poem shows how a woman wants to be a man’s crutch , when he make it nearly impossible to do so. She wanted to grow but he wouldn’t be there to give her what she needed. “She spun herself into a web and looking for a place to rest turned to him but he stood straight declining to be her corner”. This line shows the lack of support the male gave Nikki Giovanni when she needed it the most. A spider isn’t able to survive without having a place to spin their web. The most prevalent rhetorical device used in this poem would an allegory. Most of Giovanni’s examples held a literal and a symbolic meaning. This also incorporates ambiguity, which could possibly confuse the reader as to what the speaker is trying to convey.  The tone of this poem is very critical. I say this because Giovanni finds fault in herself rather than the person who doesn’t show any care for her existence. In the end Nikki Giovanni, shows that she is will be there to the end regardless the of the outcome. “She decided to become a woman and though he still refused to be a man she decided it was all right”. This line and the overall message of this poem was to show how women experience so much and get treated terribly but still remains loyal until the end.