Distress in the Life of Maya AngelouMarguerite Ann Johnson, commonly known as Maya Angelou, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a famous African American poet, writer and playwright and also worked during the civil rights: "Angelou is a truly extraordinary Renaissance woman who has been acclaimed as one of the great voices of contemporary literature" (www.mayaangelou.com). She is also a civil rights activist. Angelou went through many controversies throughout her childhood and adulthood; her romantic life has never been joyful, and there are questions that come to mind consecutively: How does Angelou's "Artful Pose" demonstrate the attitude toward writing her poetry? How does “In a Time” reveal Angelou’s ambivalence toward love? Angelou describes her feelings in everything she writes, and one thematic element that Angelou uses is the theme of antithesis. For example, in the poem "Artful Pose" this thematic element is obvious. In the verses, in their delights some poets sing their melodies sweetening my nights [...] (3-5) words like "melodies" "delights" and "hateful anger" seem to show Maya in contrast with the theme of love and hatred, divergent feelings that reflect what is happening in his life. Maya has been married three times but society has never convinced her. On the other hand the verses, Some poets sing their melodies [...] I need to write about false lovers. (4-12) support this thematic element because Angelou highlights the difference between the love that fulfills and the love that betrays. Angelou must have revealed her emotional pains that she suffered when her husband had infidelities. Furthermore, the diction used in the poem, with words such as "Mine" and "stops" seem to further suggest that Maya's rom... middle of paper... ngelou for the book, stating that, "like Richard Wright, yes opens with a primordial infantile scene that focuses on the nature of the imprisoning environment from which the self will try to escape" (www.voices.cla.umn.edu). I agree with Sidonie because she talks about the same thing I do to explain Angelou's childhood life and the poem "Artful Pose". Even though Angelou does not capture the environment, but she narrates the love of the environment by saying that love is nothing but a false obsession that breaks no matter how hard a person tries to hold the love together. Work Cited Angelou, Maya. Maya Angelou's completed poetry collection. New York: Random House, 1995. http://www.mayaangelou.com/http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/bio/MayaAngelou http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/biography http:// voices. cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/angelou_maya.html