Maya Angelou - The Telephone

Ok, so for any of you in my English class, you know that Maya Angelou is my girl. I love all her poetry, and I think she is so talented. So, naturally, I would give this poem a 5 out of 5. I was not as impressed with the poem in the beginning, but by the end, I absolutely loved it! Definitely I would recommend this poem and others by the author.

The Telephone by Maya Angelou tells of a woman who has been just waiting and waiting for a phone call that never seems to come. The first of several poetic devices employed by the author is enjambement Every line is not ended in a period or a thought, in fact, it usually end right in the middle. This is important because it gives the poem a a specific meter that is reminiscent of a ringing telephone. The ring is abrupt and often interrupts what you are doing. Also, it symbolizes the speaker also stopping to listen for the telephone because she is waiting/wanting a call. The change of style in the last line shows the speaker's relief in that she has finally received a call. The change emphasizes the change in tone from nervous and anticipating to relieved. One important thing to recognize is that the poem is not simply about a telephone. The telephone represents the speaker's life. Today, everyone needs and uses telephones regularly, and because the speaker has one, but does not use it, shows that she is isolated. This is important because the author is not commenting on our closeness due to our ease of contact, but rather the opposite. The speaker has a telephone and the ability to receive and send calls, but she is more isolated than ever, the telephone has essentially done the opposite of what it was intended to do. This motif of anxiety and isolation and the image of the telephone reveals Angelou's theme of man's degression with the evolution of technology, and that even when we are more together than ever, we are also more isolated than ever. This theme can be explained by the a similie" it is like feeling alone when you are standing in a crowd of poeple. This is what Angelou is trying to convey about our society.

Go read it!...Now(:

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