Still I Rise By Maya Angelou

“Still I Rise,” written by poet Maya Angelou, has a blend of tones. Some are playful, funny, angry, confident, and bitter. However, the poem’s tone, as the title implies, is conquering."Still I Rise" is a poem about strength, perseverance, and confirmation. It is about what is expected of a person and what that person is able to do in spite of the expectations.

‘Still I Rise’ was written by an Afro-American poet Maya Angelou and consists of a mixture of tones, such as: playful, angry, comical and bitter. Slavery was long abolished but Angelou saw its effects on society and black people. In this poem she declares that no hatefulness of society will determine her success. In the poem ‘Still I Rise’ she is not only proclaiming her triumph but also calls others to stand up for themselves and live against society’s expectations.

“Do remember, though, that sometimes the people you oppress become mightier than you would like (Veronica Roth, Insurgent).” Black people were oppressed and used as slaves for countless years in America, up until 1865, when slavery was abolished in the country. Yet, black people are still oppressed or discriminated against, despite the change throughout the years. In Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”, the speaker proclaims that she is rising above the abuse of the past; she emphasizes this through imagery, metaphors and similes, and allusion to show that she can not be pushed down.

Strength is one of the themes in this poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou. Strength is a universal theme. This poem was written from a woman’s point of view but not just any women an African-American woman. This is enhanced with direct references of ‘sexiness (line 25), sassiness (line 5), and diamonds at the meeting of my thighs’ (line 27). However, the poems thematic power lies in this applicability. Angelou’s sonnet is commanding by the way it delineates people who confer themselves to saving and triumphing over a foe that wishes to evacuate their voice. The closing of the first stanza explains this. ‘You may tread me in the very dirt/But still, like dust, I’ll rise (line 3-4) these words cold be uttered by a person who has marginalized and commits to be heard. This is where the poems resilient theme is universal. The refrain of ‘I rise’ is applicable to oppressive situations. This poem speaks for underrepresented and dispossessed. It gives them a voice which has been absent or might have been absent. That is what makes this poem

In “Still I Rise” Angelou uses similes to illustrate how judgmental people are. The first stanza shows how a nation can put you down “But still, like dust, I’ll rise” (Angelou). Angelou added this to her poem to show how some people may forget about her, but she will still rise. This also means that she will always be the head and not the

First, a person has the ability to gain power by prevailing over racism. The poem, “Still I Rise,” by Maya Angelou, is about an African-American female who faces adversity in the form of racial discrimination and fights for her own rights by standing up and rising above her oppressors. When she says “You may shoot me with your words/ You may cut me with your eyes/ You may kill me with your hatefulness/ But still, like air, I’ll rise,” (21-24) she describes herself as “the dream and hope of the slave” (40). These quotes demonstrate how she lived in a time where she was discriminated. The words “shoot,” “cut,” and “kill” reflect a violent tone which reveals how her oppressors treated her harshly and she did not have the ability to live the way

Similes were a strong poetic device seen throughout the poem. A simile is a comparison using like or as, we see an example of this right off the back when Plath writes, “Love set you going like a fat gold watch” (1). This descriptive line shows us that the narrator didn't feel love until the clock begins ticking, which in this case is the newborn baby. Another simile Plath writes,“Your mouth opens clean as cats” (15). My interpretation of this line is that the baby is newborn, therefore its mouth is still clean.

Maya Angelou employs similes to demonstrate how she will not be disturbed because of others’ opinions about her. In the first stanza she says, “You may trod me in the very dirt, / But still, like dust, I'll rise” to make her oppressors know she feels very confident with herself (3-4). Angelou utilizes a simile to compare herself to dirt and then dust, the dirt represents how her oppressors include her in the lower class, which has no power to conquer their enemies, while the dust symbolizes her potential to succeed. With this comparison, Angelou makes the reader know she is strong-minded, and she does not care what others think about her. With a very confident tone, the author says, “Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines/Diggin’ in my own backyard”(19). This simile compares her laugh to gold mines, gold mines usually

“Still I rise” the poem by Maya Angelou brings such a powerful message, and a unfamiliar characteristic to Maya. This poem perceives Maya as confident, sexy, and having self respect. Maya personality shares that others destructive and hateful acts should not ruin someone's self respect, self esteem, and self worth. She reveals that discriminators and haters have a destructive craving to destroy others pride, and view of themselves. In this poem she shows emphasis on the phrase

Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" is a poem about strength and endurance, and about affirmation. I feel as if Maya Angelou main message into writing poem is about prejudice people that are against African Americans. She is saying that she has the strength to carry on and the courage to get back up when she has been look down upon and degraded by others that won’t accept her for who she is. This

In the inspirational poem “Still I Rise” Maya Angelou portrays the story of a despondent individual who overcame obstacles of discrimination. In “Readings on Maya Angelou” she states “I write for the Black voice and any ear which can hear it.” During this time of infuriating violence of assault, murder and hatred toward black people their language still managed to develop. Her poem details the racism, criticism, and hostility towards African Americans. The attitude throughout the poem changes from comical to defiant then anger to sassiness towards the whites.

In Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise,” figurative language and the use of rhetorical questions help to reinforce the speaker’s beliefs on standing up with your head held high, no matter what. This poem is organized into nine stanzas, seven quatrains, one sestet, and one stanza of nine lines. Each stanza symbolizes how the speaker surpassed any obstacle that came her way and still rose up through it all. An idea that is questioned throughout this poem is, “you,” the speakers bully, being offended when the speaker is being herself. The figurative language supports the theme of a speaker who is both powerful and secure. Angelou incorporates similes like "but still, like dust, I'll rise" throughout the poem. This simile could also create

Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise” shows a repetition of strength stanza after stanza. African Americans were faced with the challenges of oppression and slavery. African American women not only as a minority of African American race, but as a female, were faced with all those challenges, along with woman’s rights. It took 55 years after the abolishment of slavery for females to finally have the right to vote, under the 19th amendment. Maya Angelou’s poem expresses these challenges and overcoming them, in contrast.

In “The Story of an Hour” and the poem “Still I Rise” Kate Chopin and Maya Angelou have explored the theme of oppression in a variety of different ways. “The Story of an Hour” is a short story based around how dramatically things can change within the space of an hour and how this can affect your life in the short period of time. Within the hour Mr Mallard is presumed dead in a railroad disaster, resulting in Mrs Mallard short lived ‘freedom’ after years of being oppressed, before soon learning that her husband is not dead as she encounters him. This shock triggers an ongoing heart problem and Mrs Mallard is soon confirmed dead. “Still I Rise” is a poem based around Maya Angelou and how she will overcome challenges that are thrown at her.

“Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou is a poem of objection and satisfaction in which Maya states that she will raise regardless of any situation. In her poem, “Angelou also incorporates anaphora, similes and metaphors throughout the poem to illustrate the resilience of the speaker regardless of what befalls her” (Bouchard: “Literary Contexts in Poetry”). Using these methods, the reader is able to visualize the hardships the poet went through. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou offers ambition and inspiration even in the midst of adversity; it is possible to overcome any situation as long as they find inner strength.