Still I Rise

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1. Still I Rise
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou is a very moving ballad poem, and has a positive and strong tone throughout it. The main theme of this poem is
discrimination. It portrays a strong woman living with confidence and a positive attitude. The reason why I chose to write my essay on Still I Rise
is because it has a very powerful message. Although this poem was written in 1978, I feel as if anyone can relate to it even in this time period.
Everybody experiences discrimination at some point in their lives, and this poem teaches readers to have pride and hope in their selves in order to
overcome any obstacle that comes their way. There are quite a few poetic devices in the poem I will be focusing on such as similes, metaphors,
repetition and...show more content...
She feels free and open like the ocean, able to overcome any difficulty. The metaphor can also be described as cruelty or evil, and how things can
occur unexpectedly. This could be how her life is full of horrific and unexpected events. The "black ocean" may also be referring to her race and it
can inform readers that this poem is about racism. The metaphors used in the poem allow the audience to understand the bigger picture of the
poem by exaggerating. The two last poetic devices mainly used in Still I Rise are imagery and repetition. In the fourth stanza, the lines, "Did you
want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries." appeals to the
readers' awareness. Those lines describe a silhouette of defeat, with a slumped posture and distressed eyes, which indicates failure and
disappointment. Furthermore, the "soulful cries" deepens the image by adding a sense of audio layer, now the reader not only sees what defeat must
feel like, but hears it too. The repetition used in the poem was "I'll rise; I rise". By repeating these words, it emphasizes Angelou's message of staying
strong and never allowing anything or anyone to stop you from fighting and living confidently. This also helps the message stand out, which makes it
much more powerful and significant. All of these literary devices together contribute furthermore into the depths of the poem by demonstrating the
amount of the speaker's power to
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2. Still I Rise
Maya Angelou's 1978 poem, Still I Rise main themes are discrimination and self respect and it also talks about two different types of oppression;
sexism and racial oppression, not just black women but also women in general can also. This poem contains a number of different tones and several
other language devices, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, imagery and rhetorical questions, uses certain words to position the responders the way she
wants The very first word of Still I Rise is 'You'. This suggests that the poet is clearly addressing the person reading the poem and making them feel as
if they are being spoken to directly and personally and making them think about whether or not they are someone that oppresses people in this way.
Angelou uses words like: weakened, soulful cries, kill, hatefulness etc. to position the responders to feel it sympathy for her and others going through
the same thing....show more content...
It contains rhetorical questions; "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?" which are used to get the responder to think
about everything that is being stated in the poem. Lines such as "I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide" (33,
34) is an example of personification, the ocean leaps and it also includes a metaphor; I am a black ocean (33). Hyperbole is used in the sixth Still I
Rise is structured in 8 stanzas with four lines to the first seven of them; the last stanza has fifteen lines. The first 7 stanzas have a rhyming
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3. Still I Rise
The battle of self–love vs. finding one's true purpose in life
A Study of Maya Angelou's
"Still I rise" and "I know why the caged bird sings"
The purpose of this essay is to examine the theme of immense self–love versus finding one's true purpose in life and accepting who one was meant to
be despite all obstacles. In Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" and "I know why the caged bird sings" the reader can debate the two through the use of
emotion and metaphor choice. In "Still I rise" the reader can observe similarities in Angelou's words to describe self–acceptance and self–satisfaction.
In "I know why the caged bird sings" readers can relate to the struggle of finding one's true purpose and battling how others see them aside from who
they...show more content...
As stated in stanza 4 "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, weakened by my
soulful cries?" Angelou is relating with readers by letting them know that it is not always easy to be strong. Angelou explains how those who were
against her were expecting to see her low and doing poorly as the bird in "I know why the caged bird sings" was. Instead of giving them the power
over her she rose stronger than she was when she was initially knocked down. What Angelou wants the reader to take from this stanza is that although
you may not spring back automatically from a let down; do not allow the negative person or situation to see you failing or see that the negative situation
is affecting you. By showing them that weakness you have handed that person or situation the winning strength that lies within
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4. Maya Angelou's Still I Rise
This seminar paper will look at a poem written by Maya Angelou, Still I rise, 1978. An analysis of this poem will be provided, exploring the meaning
of the poem and the language used to present a certain image to the audience.
"Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African–American
family, community, and culture"(www.mayaangelou.com, 2014).
This poem is Maya Angelou speaking to the audience as she explains the problems she has overcome such as; racism, sexism, bullying and other
problems in her life that she has managed to move on from.This poem is set in a first person narrative, Angelou explains to the audience about the
good and bad times...show more content...
Whereas, "you," is related to the white population, this shows the division of both races. This is a setting of one of Angelou's problems, overcoming
racism, and still rising. "Bringing the gifts my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave," (stanza 8) this line relates to slavery, the pain
she and her family went through during these times of cruelty. This also allows us to picture the author, Angelou, as a strong African woman, who has
overcome many obstacles in her life. "Still I rise," the name of the poem is repeated throughout the poem to intensify her strength and pride of
overcoming her past experiences, and also that she continues to overcome other situations. This allows the poem to be viewed in a positive way by the
audience as Angelou overcomes these situations and being able to connect with the reader as she portrays that to them.
In this poem, every other line rhymes, "Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise, up from a past that's rooted in pain, I rise, I'm a black ocean
leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide,"(stanza 8) this allows the poet to guide the reader throughout the poem and keep them
involved. "Black ocean," this phrase gives a sense of fear because of the colour black, telling the reader that the ocean is cruel and full of evil. This
may be related to the fact that Angelou is a black woman, who has gone through some unexpected horrible events. Angelou has used imagery
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5. Theme Of Still I Rise
In the late 20th century, black feminism as a political and social movement grew out of black women's feelings of discontent with both the civil rights
movement and the feminist movement. In the 1970's, women started developing a theory which helped to explain their oppression pockets of
resistance began to organize and challenge patriarchy.
Maya Angelou, an American poet, at first grew up with the name Marguerite Annie Johnson. She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. She was
respected as a spokesperson for black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her deep suffeing as being
one of Black women is the reason of her success as she said ''When we talk about racism, we have to see that we are not...show more content...
By doing so, Angleou makes a contrast between the difficult past with its hardships and disappointments to the bright promise of the future. Angleou
also uses alliteration in "past rooted in pain" and in "huts of history" which affect the rhythm of the poem. All of these literary devices demonstrates
the extent of the speaker's power to overcome obstacles and still she rise.
Angleou uses strong words like lies, broken, pain, terror and fear to describe how she feels as there is nothing can bring her down. she symbolizes
herself and all the black african american women in te world by using t "Black ocean". As this image is full of fear to show the audiences that she has
spent all her life facing the terrors and fear Moreover, Angleou's motif comes to overcome all these obstacles and oppression.
In conclusion, I believe the central theme of the poem is about an African American woman's struggle against racism and hatred from society. Maya's
main purpose is to encourge and inspire the oppressed people to rise to fight against the injustices and to continue to live despite of all difficulties.The
Repetition of Still I rise shows that Angleou's intention to encourge the African AMerican to rise up and stay strong. The repetition affects the whole
poem as it increases the emotions gradually and poems ends with I
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6. Still I Rise
Analyse how language features were used to reveal the attitudes of one or more characters or individuals in the written text.
Often in written texts, a characters attitude can be identified in the use of language features applied by the author. The poem 'Still I rise' written by
Maya Angelou, is one such text. The text explores the persona's opinion towards discrimination and her attitudes that enable her to overcome
challenges. The positive attitudes of the character (persona) are determination, confidence and powerful which are revealed through the use of simile,
repetition, rhetorical questions and personification.
In 'Still I Rise', Maya Angelou uses the language feature of simile and repetition to reveal the determined attitude of the persona. The simile and
repetition of the key phrase is used to...show more content...
The main symbol in this example is dust. In order for dust to rise, it must be unsettled from the ground so it can leave and rise. Through this, Maya
Angelou is able to express that she is determined to overcome racism as she is willing to rise above any prejudice she faces. Her oppressors are on
the ground and because they have unsettled her by treating her wrong, she is now stronger than ever and her attitude of determination comes
through this example. Dirt is seen as a dirty object, but no matter how much you step on it or brush it away, it stands tall and finds a way to escape
to keep on going. Maya Angelou uses this feature to represent her determination to keep moving above the racism she is faced with. This particular
simile also creates imagery as this helps the reader picture the rising cloud of dust and her determination that enables her to do this. The language
feature of repetition is also used to reveal the attitude of determination of the persona. The phrase, "I'll rise" is repeated three times at the end of the
poem. It is a very simple yet powerful phrase as it emphasises the persona's ability to overcome and rise above any
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7. Still I Rise By Maya Angelou Essay
Julie A. McGuire
ENGL102
Anne V. Powell
June 23, 2015
Still I Rise
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.
The 1st line of the 1st stanza recognizes history, "You may write me down in history". This line itself holds extreme value. Emotion aside, there are
years of history of oppression, slavery, suffrage, and women's rights. History can be told from any person's point of view. There is both emotion and
fact in history, based off whose point of view you learn it from. If received from an African Americans point of view, there is a vision of slavery and
suffrage. If an African American woman tells the story there is also a story of woman's rights.
That being said, anyone can tell the history of America. From Maya's point of view, if someone tells the story with fault and evasive truth, "with your
bitter twisted lies", she knows the story of her life and of her ancestry. She knows that even with everything she faced, from being raped at 8 years old,
which led her to become a mute for more
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8. Still I Rise
Mrs. Jones and the speaker in "Still I Rise" are both strong women. However, The two women are strong in their own ways. Mrs. Jones is strong
because she does the unexpected. When Roger tries to steal her purse she shows mercy to him by not calling the cops. In my opinion it takes a lot
of strength to show kindness to someone who has done you wrong. Instead Mrs. Jones helps Roger, and gives him money to buy shoes. This
proves my point of how she is a strong women. Unlike the speaker in "Still I Rise" Mrs. Jones was like the person that did her wrong. She wants to
make a point to teach him a lesson like someone did for her. Mrs. Jones changed and became a better person. The speaker in "Still I Rise" is a strong
woman because of how she reacts to the hatred. The speaker has been broken before. I know this because in stanza 1 she states "You may tread me in
the very dirt but still like dust i'll rise." In the poem the repetition of still I rise helps you understand the writer is strong and won't be pushed down.
The writer compares...show more content...
Mrs. Jones and the speaker from "Still I Rise" are both merciful. Instead of Mrs. Jones turning Roger in to the police she shows him mercy and
gives money for shoes. In comparison, the speaker from "Still I Rise" shows mercy to the people that tell lies about her. She decides to be the
bigger person and not clap back at them. This takes a powerful person to show mercy to a person that has done you wrong. Both women show
kindness to people who may not deserve it in other people's eyes. I know this because Mrs. Jones takes roger, the boy who tried to rob her, home
to wash his face. The speaker from "Still I Rise" states in stanza eight that, "Up from a past that's rooted in pain, I rise" This shows me she is
forgetting the past of suffering and being nice to others. The speaker is saying she will be the bigger person and forget how others had treated her
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9. Still I Rise, By Maya Angelou
In both Maya Angelou's book and poems, she creates a powerful imagery of her hardships in life and actions towards others. Maya Angelou creates a
perception of herself in these stories showing her unbreakable attitude and opposing outlook during her troubling times. "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
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10. Still I Rise Poetic Devices
The Subject of the Poem " Still I rise " Is very contrast, and it revolves around the subject of being treated very poorly of their enemies, but this poem
suggest that the poet is speaking to a community of people, especially the whites / Caucasians. This is because there are context clues given to suggest
and highlight this, such as the last stanza, because each line suggested dominance of a culture, or the ancestral culture, such as that the first line of the
last stanza implies that there may be nights where the people leave terror and fear, and it implies slavery, but the poet wanted to leave it behind and
start a new life. the second line of the last stanza implies that the poet does not intend to allow the hatefulness of the society and looking...show more
content...
The rhyme scheme of the poem on almost all stanzas were abcb, and there were allusions that were used such as oil well pumping in my living
room, gold mine digging in my backyard, and diamonds at the meeting of my thighs, which expresses the poets confidence and hope. There were
also rhetorical questions that were given such as "Why are you beset with gloom?" "Did you want to see me broken?" "Does my haughtiness
offend you?", that expressed that her enemy's attemps to pull her down are futile and that she will continue on. The poet also used hyperboles which
were seen as in one stanza, "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.", which over exaggerates on hoe the enemy pulls her down, and the poem also uses a first person point of view by using the pronouns
I and
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11. Still I Rise
"Still I Rise" Poem Analysis "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. "This poem has been an inspiration to people from all different walks of life." "Still I Rise" is an amazing poem that not only speaks of the
troubles of slavery and Maya's struggles in life but I think this poem is also a victory call a banner of hope and encouragement to all those that...show
more content...
She refers to "...hopes springing high" in line eleven with the knowledge that everyone has high hopes and dreams for their lives. Everyone will
always keep hoping. Just as peoples hopes will rise she will continue to rise also. She rises above the negativity of the words and actions that try to tear
and crush her spirit. 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. In stanza five she talks of laughter. Laughter can be said to cure everything. By laughing at the negativity
that is being thrown in you direction it will make it easier to brush it off and play it off as if it never offended you. Causing disappointment to the
people who wanted to see that they can affect your attitude and walk all over you. By laughing
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