Analysis of Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise"

The author of “Still I Rise” is Maya Angelou, a well-known poet, author, and civil rights activist. This poem is about a poet who struggles to meet the social pressure and injustices of her time. Her poetry thus concentrates on two kinds of oppression – both racial oppression, and sexism. Amidst the challenges and adversities, she managed to survive and successfully claims that she will not be broken nor will she be defeated no matter how many times she is brought down by society. In this poem “Still I Rise”, I will be looking at critical works by Sandra Cookson, R. B. Stepto, and Lyman B. Hagen and stating why I agree with them.

While many types of figurative language are used in “Still I Rise,” similes are the most common and they go a long way to help convey the theme of the poem by creating tone. In the second stanza, after asking the audience if they are upset by her sassiness, Angelou writes, “‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells/Pumping in my living room” (7-8). The simile “like I’ve got oil wells/Pumping in my living room” is comparing the attitude of the speaker to to the attitude of someone who is rich with personal oil wells. The speaker is saying that she walks as if she’s rich, as if she could own the whole world. This gives the speaker a confident and

“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.

Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” written in 1978, acknowledges the racism and segregation during the Civil Rights Movement. During this time, although no longer slaves, the African Americans have been given little rights and opportunity in America. Maya Angelou wrote this poem to prove to other American citizens that she is unfazed by their hate, while she strengthens her people’s motive to reach equality. Angelou utilizes metaphor, imagery and repetition to reveal how proud she is of her minority’s strength.

‘Still I Rise’ show other aspects of the problems that women face. Within the poem, Angelou uses repetition to accentuate powerful imagery. She repeats “I Rise” throughout the poem and frequently leaves it as a two-word line. This draws, even more, attention to the image of her continuously rising up against anyone may put her down. Angelou also employs the use of a

In stanza four Maya Angelou asks a series of rhetorical questions in lines thirteen and fourteen. She knows that people want to see her broken, weak and crying from the criticism and hateful words that have been said to her. She not only had to deal with criticism from being an African-American in a time when whites did not accept them into their society but also dealing with the fact that she was an African-American woman. During the fifties women were expected to marry and be a helping hand around the house. They were not expected to be in the working field. Just imagine how hard it had to be to make as an African-American women trying to achieve her goals. But she refuses to show how difficult it was through her emotion she just rises above it.

Lastly, the use of similes in the poem effectively conveys the key idea further. In the simile, ‘Just like moons and like suns…still I’ll rise’, the poet is comparing herself to the moon and the sun, which are two very powerful things. The common phrase, ‘the sun will always rise tomorrow’ directly connects to this simile because by comparing herself to the sun, Angelou connotes to the reader she is certain that she will always ‘rise’ again tomorrow just like the sun, no matter what happens to her. By showing her determined and resilient attitude to not give in to oppressors through this simile, it strengthens the key idea of this poem. Further use of similes also helps to reveal Maya Angelou’s bold and powerful attitude, for example, when she says, “‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room.’ By using this

Maya Angelou, an African-American woman, wrote the poem, “Still I Rise,” in 1978 when racism was still prominent. Maya Angelou was reaching out to a racist community to prove oppression will not bring her down. Angelou brings up topics of what she and every other African-American person has to endure when living in their communities, and how they feel. She also brings up topics of oppression and marginalization throughout this speech to state that she will continue to rise up above it. Maya Angelou utilizes rhetorical questions, hateful diction, as well as, similes and metaphors to prove to others that she, and other African-American’s will rise against the racism and oppression they face.

Stepto analyzes the significance of the word choice and diction in Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” and how Angelou’s title poem, reminds us of Brown's famous "Strong Men," that it is the discovery of that point which helps us define Angelou’s particular presence and success. The poetic and visual rhythms created by the repetition of "Still I Rise" and its variants clearly revoice that of Brown's "strong men . . . strong men gittin' stronger." (Stepto 313) Stepto later suggests Angelou’s word play and draws the reader’s attention to Angelou’s usage of the word ‘I’ “But the "I" of Angelou’s refrain is obviously female and, in this instance, a woman forthright about the sexual nuances of personal and social struggle.” (Stepto 314) I plan on using this essay to further examine diction and its importance in this

A variety of literary devices are used in this poem. After the shift, she repeats the phrase “I rise” for emphasis. Similes show how strong and persevering the speaker is. She compares herself to dust. No matter how many times you clean, dust will always come back. She even compares herself to the sun and moon, which surely rise each morning and night, to prove her confidence. The poem also uses hyperbole and personification. It says: “You may shoot me with your words,/You may cut me with

Maya Angelou employs similes to demonstrate how she will not hurt 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 is 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 lowest class,which has no power, while the dust symbolizes her potential. With this comparison, Angelou makes the reader know she is a strong person and cannot be put down easily, she does not care what others think about her. Maya also mentions, “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 represent being rich or having a lot of money, so here Angelou says she doesn't need to be rich to be happy because of what she has is enough.

Majority of African American women get judged on the day to day basis. When scrolling through social media there will be large amounts of individuals who will bully or even belittle a colored female because of the natural kinks of her hair, her sense of fashion, the full shaped curves of her body, and the color of her skin . The poem “Still I Rise” by the well-known poet, Maya Angelou, specifically describes the reasons why she had so much confidence; even if she were to be judged by her appearances and mindset. This poem is about embracing females, but it mainly introduces similar life situations that many African American women have experienced. The symbols and point of view that Angelou specifically added in her poem made her readers realize that there are many meanings to this poem.

Maya was a fighter who suffered most of her life with female bond. One of her features is quite interesting was her strength. Even though she experienced a variety of problems in her life, she never gave up and she kept pushing for the prosperity of her life. Maya Angelou is a woman with a strong character. She teaches how to keep ourselves up

At the end of every line Maya Angelou says that she will rise. The repetition is important in showing that no matter what comes against her she will still rise. She has learned to fight to stay happy. Even through all the adversity’s she faces she can still stay happy. The repetition of the phrase throughout the poem help signify its importance to the author. While saying that nothing can bring her down she is also saying that she will overcome adversities and rise