Black Woman

In “Black Woman,” Senghor employs the traditional African form of the praise poem (sometimes referred to as a “praise song” when chanted or performed). A praise poem is a series of descriptions that laud a subject for its virtues or positive characteristics, all in service to capturing the essence of the subject. 

In keeping with the form of the praise poem, “Black Woman” features an increasingly intense series of descriptions that define the Black woman (and metaphorically, the continent of Africa) as being worthy of respect and reverence. The repeated lines “Naked woman, Black woman” (Lines 1, 28) and “Naked woman, fathomless woman” (Lines 9, 18) are refrains that anchor the series of descriptions that unfolds over five stanzas.

“Black Woman” is in free verse and thus has no regular rhyme scheme, line length, or meter.

“Black Woman” uses apostrophe, or direct poetic address: The speaker directs his words to a specific figure rather than to an assumed audience. Apostrophe allows the speaker to praise the Black woman, share heightened emotion about her, and define her through the use of