Invictus Poem Analysis

Imagine someone dying from a sickness. They know that they are on their last leg. They can either fight to stay alive, or they can give up hope and pass away. People control their own fate. Controlling their own fate means that they decide when it is time for them to die, and don’t just lay down and accept death. This idea can be seen in in many pieces of text including the following poems. “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley and “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. Both authors express the theme of people control their own fate.

Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” was published in 1978 at one of the most productive and successful periods of Angelou’s career. “Still I Rise” tells about bouncing back and rising up past oppression and hate. The speaker in Angelou’s poem talks to a direct audience, asking them questions, announcing to them that no matter what they do, she will always rise back up. The poem is broken up into quatrains, although the last two stanzas use the repetition of the phrase “I rise” between the complete lines. The author uses figurative language in every stanza of her poem and uses similes and metaphors to create imagery and to get the tone and the theme of the poem across to the reader. Angelou uses figurative language to convey the message of resilience and succeeding even through hatred.

“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

The title itself alludes to “The Unknown Soldier,” almost parodying it. According to Georgia Virtual School, an unknown soldier died in battle, however, the body is unrecognizable. It is also known that soldiers are tagged. The fact that the title is the way it is and the subtitle mimics a tag implies that the lives of common folk is so insignificant and uneventful that they might just as well be unknown since they are just another face in the vast crowd of people. This relays a metaphor in the eyes of the reader.

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.

“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.

The similar theme between the two poems, difficulties will not bring them down, is seen in this repetition. More evidence of this theme is found when Hughes says, “They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong.” By indicating that he laughs after being subjected to discrimination, he shows his tough skin in difficult times. In addition, Angelou once 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.” The author’s comparison of her rise to the rise of air shows how strong she is when it comes to hate. Although the two poems share similar themes, both of the authors’ focuses differ. Maya Angelou focuses on ignoring the hate and not letting it decrease her strength while Langston Hughes focuses on staying strong in hope for a better future. For instance, when Hughes states “Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table when company comes. Nobody’ll dare say to me, ‘Eat in the kitchen,’ then.” Hughes is showing hope for a future where he will sit

A girl thrown out of her apartment, lost her job, but she still strives for her dreams and lets nothing get in her way. She pushes through, gets back up, and fights back. No matter what she won’t let anything stop her from achieving her dreams. This idea can be seen in many pieces of texts including the following poems. “Invictus,” by William Ernest Henley and “Still I rise” by Maya Angelou both convey the message that people can not let anything stop them from achieving their dream and to fight back.

The poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, addresses White people who discriminate African Americans. During this period of time, Black people were not being treated equally, with this poem Angelou wants to defend African Americans. As a civil rights activist it is her job to fight for people's rights. By employing simile, imagery, and repetition, Angelou defends African Americans against their oppressors and shows that people have to be confident and strong, and not feel put down but rise above their problems.

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 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”).

Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” takes place in the mind of Maya Angelou. She is talking about someone who is saying bad things about her. Even though they are saying bad things about her she won’t let it bring her down she will rise. She shows her Confidence by saying that she will rise, another way she is showing her Confidence is by being confident in her heritage, and her Confidence is evident through her displays of literary devices.