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Still I Rise By Maya Angelou Tone

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Still I Rise Analysis
Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise”, is a fascinating poem that compels a mixture of tones. From playful and defiant, comical and angry, to self-assured and bitter. The poem’s tone is triumphant just as the title implies. The story in this poem is about an African American woman who has been hurt physically and emotionally by diversity and has risen above everything. Yet, she does not only talk about herself she talks about her race and sends a message to everyone in general. The poem is addressed to others and not just one individual as the first stanzas first word is “You”. It’s clearly addressed to the white oppressors of African Americans. This woman, Maya Angelou, speaks up for herself, her ancestors and the living African Americans. She is a bit playful as she uses a simile, “That I dance like I’ve got diamonds-At the meeting of my thighs?” She also talks about “gold” and “oil” which in the poem she refers to oppression, “people with money” because they are who look down on people who are not at the same level economically. The defiance in this poem is in the first stanza, “You may trod me in the …show more content…

She’s positive and optimistic she had the worst things happen to her, yet she still has the strength to be above it all. Which is very admiring because there’s so many people giving up for the tiniest things, yet her pride is high, her power is strong and her confidence is key. Although, the last stanza can be taken as a bitter attitude, “Out of the huts of history’s shame –I rise –Up from a past that’s rooted in pain –I rise… -Welling and swelling I bear in the tide…I rise –I rise –I rise –I rise.” she is still rising above. She is angry, hurt, and resentful because of the injustice. However, she was aggrieved of how African Americans lived for years and she never gave up and she kept on rising above all the

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