Black Woman by Léopold Sédar Senghor

“Black Woman” is an interesting poem that extols the beauty of African women. But beyond the description of the physical properties of the black woman, the poem is about the beauty of the African continent.

During the period it was written, there was practically no poem that confidently eulogised the black beauty. All works of literature at the time were mostly about the white people and their “wonders”. This is not surprising because of the influence of colonialism on the blacks, who were taught to see everything about the White as superior.

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Therefore, as a form of response to white writers or poets painting very attractive pictures of the white woman in most of their literature, Leopold Sedar Senghor, having been influenced by Aimé Césaire Negritude, wrote the poem, “Black Woman” to show that the black woman is as (if not more than) beautiful.

In terms of setting, the poem centers around the African people, of course, since it is describing the African woman. Though the poem talks about the beauty of the African woman, the scope is not restricted to African women on the African continent alone, it reflects the exceptional beauty of the African woman wherever they may be.   

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