Nikki Giovanni

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Student Question

What is the tone and situation of "it was all/right" in Nikki Giovanni's poem "Woman"? Is she reconciled to her situation?

Quick answer:

The tone of "it was all/right" in Nikki Giovanni's poem "Woman" suggests a sense of acceptance and reconciliation. Throughout the poem, the speaker expresses desires for change and transformation, each time hoping her partner would adapt alongside her. However, each attempt is met with refusal, highlighted by the repeated "but." By the poem's end, the shift to "and though he still refused" indicates the speaker's realization that she can embrace change independently.

Expert Answers

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I think that, yes, the speaker in Nikki Giovanni's poem "Woman" is reconciled to her situation at the end of the poem. The poem, as I read it, is all about one person (the speaker, a woman) wanting to change. The first two of these changes are introduced by the phrase "she wanted to be..." The desires for change that follow aren't introduced by that phrase, but it's clear that the thought of change is continued throughout the poem.

Each of her attempts at change fails because she wants her male partner to change with her -- not to become the same thing, but something connected to what she wants to become. For example, in stanza two,

she wanted to be a robin singing
through the leaves
but he refused to be
her tree

Each failure is introduced by the word "but" until the last failure, which breaks the pattern with "and though he still refused..."

I think that the speaker, too, has broken a pattern in her mind as well. She can change, be what she wants, even if her partner isn't all ready to change with her.

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