![]() One of her most well-known poems, “Still I Rise,” asserts these life-affirming qualities in humanity.Īlthough Angelou acknowledges and even directly addresses the many injustices and discriminations that black people have experienced throughout history, the poem’s overall theme is upbeat and uplifting.ĭespite not being intended to be sung, the poem “Still I Rise” can be categorized or classed as a lyric poetry since a single speaker said it and reflects her sentiments.īecause of authors and activists like Angelou herself, the poem is both a personal lyric that draws on Angelou’s difficult background and experiences and a poem about a country emerging during the Civil Rights movement. Maya Angelou consistently affirms the good and inspiring qualities of humanity despite these challenges, including growing up as one of the few black girls in the town in Arkansas where she spent ten years of her childhood. The message of her poetry becomes much more stirring when “you” refers to an African-American lady who experienced more adversity than was fair growing up. ![]() The poems and autobiographies of Maya Angelou both emphasize the value of overcoming the difficulties and trials life presents to you. Her ancestors, who endured years of racial prejudice after being forced to work as slaves, dreamed of such a moment, and it has now come to pass because to the hardships and fights of Civil Rights activists like Angelou. Indeed, a new dawn that is brighter and more hopeful is emerging as she leaves behind those gloomy periods of “horror and fear.” The quatrain structure used up to this point in “Still I Rise” is abandoned for the final fifteen lines of the poem, which include many repetitions of the refrain “I rise.”Īccording to Angelou, she and others have emerged from the “huts of history’s shame” over how black people have been treated throughout history. The second line’s reference to “sassiness” is brought up again in the seventh verse, but this time they have converted it into overt sexiness.Īnother version of Angelou’s earlier-mentioned confident swagger is that this time, she appears to have diamonds at the “meeting” of her “thighs.” Finally, the material and affluent have met and fused to become the corporeal or sexual. In the sixth verse, Angelou declares her defiance: “Hatefulness” (a term that can denote both “detestable attitudes” and “hatred for others”), nasty words, and unfriendly looks may be hurled at her and other black people, but they will rise “like air”: naturally and gently. She chuckles with the assurance and self-assurance of someone who has gold mines in their backyard and wealth beyond their wildest dreams. However, she declares her “haughtiness” in the fifth stanza by holding her head high rather than bowed in surrender or defeat. There are several additional queries in the fourth stanza: Angelou claims that the intended recipient wants to have her spirit crushed. The moon picture alludes to the tides of the sea, which are as predictable and dependable as the sunrise and sunset every day and are caused by the moon’s gravitational pull on the oceans of the planet. ![]() Is her sexuality, self-assurance, and beauty troubling you? She exudes confidence and moves with the wealth of an oil baron.Īnd (turning to the third line) she will continue to rise, just like the sun and the moon do every day and night, just as our aspirations for a better future endure despite adversity. In the second stanza, Angelou directly questions the listener. ![]() With a clear and explicit reference to “you,” Angelou begins her poem with a clever wordplay: “write in history” may imply both “write the history of me and my people” and “write me down,” which refers to exaggerating my accomplishments.Īlthough some people might try to make fun of her and other African-Americans, Angelou claims that even if she is treated like dirt, like the dust that comes up from someone’s boot, she will still rise and will not be overcome. I am the dream and the hope of the slave. Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
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