Explication of Lady Luncheon Club by Maya Angelou

     This poem by Maya Angelou exclusively uses irony to bring upon the most valid points about sexism and gender roles in society. I picture the ladies described in this poem to be of an upper class, but to also be interested in topics such as world affairs, etc. There is a sense of irony in lines three and four. The Lady Luncheon Club is paying the guest speaker from their "petty cash account" (3), yet the woman checks her golden watch, which the reader should assume is an expensive item. There is a guest speaker at this luncheon, but it is not an established woman, for it is just a man. He is described as someone with false sincerity, and false empathy for the injustices many women have had to face. The man claims to understand the rage of biblical woman such as Eve and Delilah but I am sure most of the women at the Luncheon just laugh at this attempt at empathy.
     For each subject the guest speaker goes over, the reader sees into the minds of the esteemed women at the event. She is thinking petty thoughts like how the coffee is too strong and how the cake is much too sweet. Instead of listening to what could be very reasonable and intelligent thoughts from the guest speaker, the woman is only paying attention to obsolete aspects. I think Maya Angelou is trying to play on the degrading stereotype that women aren't good for anything except taking care of the domestic aspects of life. This is where the irony lies. Obviously, Maya Angelou would not believe these types of stereotypes but rather, she is making fun of them. These are supposed to be women that care about societal issues and worry about sophisticated world problems, but when there is someone right in front of them to inform them, they are just busy worrying about nothingness.