Analysis of the poem 'Still I Rise'

Welcome and thankyou to this discussion on celebrating a poet whose powerful language engages and influences others. The poet whose contributions demonstrate these features is Maya Angelou whose influence is evident in the poetry she produced. Maya Angelou is an American poet and civil rights activist, born in 1928 whose poetry is famous for its inspiration and is considered ‘one of the great voices of contemporary literature.’ (Metacritic, 2015) Maya Angelou’s personal and cultural experiences communicate the power of the African- Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and 1970s era to overcome adversity and oppression that are clearly reflected in her inspirational poems ‘Caged Bird’ and ‘Still I Rise.’ An analysis of these poems reveals that

African American writers of the Harlem Renaissance era sought to celebrate their heritage through literary mediums such as poems, newspapers, and novels. The writers tried to convey criticism of the American society’s view on civil rights at the time.. Two highly regarded poets from this era were Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, and they took their swing at America in poems “I, Too” and “ Still I Rise”. The two poems are alike in how they jab the American public, but they are different in their structure and delivery.

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 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.

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.

She compares herself to a "black ocean, leaping and wide," an indication of the infinite power of her resilience. She closes the poem claiming that she is the "dream and the hope of the slave" followed by the thrice repeated phrase, "I rise." “Angelou captures the both the repression and the progress of the African American people over the course of history.” (Bouchard 1) I will use this essay in my final paper to analyze and determine the importance of simile in this poem and how it deeply affects the way in which the poem is meant to be

Maya Angelou is one out of the best known poets. She has written a lot of poems that inspires and assist people with their lives. She has a “desire humbleness to learn and experience all that life has to offer her” (gale biography in context, “Maya Angelou More than a Poet”) which makes her poems have a meaning to them. In addition, Maya Angelou got a lot of pieces of poems considered equality to her experience as a human of the United States during race times and her experience as a person who worked with other civil right activist. Maya Angelou uses deep themes that leaves the reader to think about the topic is being talked about. In her poem, “Still I Rise” she talks metaphorically about discrimination. In the poem, it states, “does my haughtiness offend you? ( the poetry foundation, “Maya Angelou”). This quote from the poem shows how the rest of the poem is about people believe they is better than other people and that the other people should suffer because they are inferior to the people, but the people being abused should not be embarrassed of who they are and be thankful for life(“Maya Angelou More than a Poet 1”).

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 African-American writer Maya Angelou, includes a character who rises “Up from a past that’s rooted in pain.” No matter what words are said against her, lies are told about her, threats are made towards her, or words are written against her, she takes the past and uses it to fuel her confidence. The way she writes creates a deep sense of pride and feeling, while giving the poem life and helping the audience realise that they, too can rise. The diction, literary devices, and theme help the speaker portray her feelings about the topic of oppression in her experience.

‘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.

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

It has been contrasted and music and musical structures, particularly soul, and like soul artist, Angelou utilizes chuckling or mock rather than tears to adapt to minor aggravations, trouble, and awesome enduring. A large number of her sonnets are about affection, connections, or overcoming hardships, as communicated in lyrics of hers, for example, "Still I Rise", I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and Million Man March Poem. The allegories in her verse serve as "coding", or litotes, for implications comprehended by different

“Still I Rise” was written by Maya Angelou, who is an African-American poet. A majority of her poems are written on slavery and life as a African- American woman. “Still I Rise” is one of the many well known. She discusses how she is treated differently and refers to her ancestry and relates to events they went through during the time of slavery and the events she continues to go through during her time period of life.

The use of metaphors by Maya Angelou reflect her Confidence. When she says “Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room” She is saying that you shouldn’t be unhappy because she is happy and she uses this metaphor to help show that. She uses metaphors because it gives you a tangible comparison between reality and her metaphors. She showed irony when she talked about rising like dust because dust eventually settles but she wants to stay risen and on top of the world. She wants to be like dust and rise, but she wants to be unlike dust and stay

“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.