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Still I Rise Analysis

Author: Poetry of Maya Angelou Type: Poetry Views: 2289

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,
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You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

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.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

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.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

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||| Analysis | Critique | Overview Below |||

.: :.

I am in year 10... have any of you guys tried

shmoop?

| Posted on 2015-10-06 | by a guest

.: :.
Thank You for this poem of Maya Angelou I'll make
this my project.And thank you to all your lesson

| Posted on 2014-09-20 | by a guest

.: :.

wow, this is really beautiful and conveys a special

message, it is clear that maya is proud of her origins
, the poem explains how she overcomes great
obstacles and opression with grace,

| Posted on 2013-02-03 | by a guest

.: :.

wow, this is really beautiful and conveys a special

message, it is clear that maya is proud of her origins
, the poem explains how she overcomes great
obstacles and opression with grace,

| Posted on 2013-02-03 | by a guest

.: :.

Rhyme Scheme
- lies, rise
- gloom, room
- tides, rise
- eyes, cries
- hard, yard
- eyes, rise
- wide, tide
- fear, clear
- gave, slave
With the exception of the last stanza, the rhyme
scheme is A,B,C,B. In the last stanza
Just like moons and like suns � simile
Comparing how she continuously raises herself up
emotionally to stay strong just, like how the moon
and sun rises everyday no matter what happens.
I�ll rise; I rise � repetition
By repeating these words it makes the words that
much more powerful and makes it stand out and
also emphasises Angelou�s message, which is to
stay strong and to never allow anything or anyone
stop you from fighting and living strong.
Does my sassiness upset you? ; Do you want to see
me broken? ; Does my haughtiness offend you? ;
Does my sexiness offend you?
By questioning the readers (�you�), it catches the
reader�s attention and is affective because it
makes readers realize how many people have made
the person (�I�) feel and how many people may be
feeling, it makes readers read the poem and take it
to a more personal level.
oil wells; gold mines; diamonds � metaphor
These are often known to be expensive and
valuable, and Angelou is relating these to the value
of herself. She is worth just as much as everyone
else and therefore she should receive just as much
respect and love like others.
Shoulders falling down like teardrops � simile
Comparing how a person�s shoulders drop as they
lose confidence in them self and when feeling down,
similar to how tears drop done one�s face when
upset or hurt.
At the meeting of my thighs
Expressing her sexuality of being a woman
I�m a black ocean, leaping and wide
The colour black is usually used to create a sense of
fear and evil. A �black ocean� seems to describe
an ocean that is full of cruelty and how things occur
unexpectedly. This may be referring to how her own
life is, full of horrific and unexpected events. The
�black ocean� may also be describing her own
race which allows readers to understand that the
poem is about racism.
Still I Rise has a positive and strong tone throughout
the entire poem. The words Angelou used also
makes it seem as though the character in the poem
is talking to the readers. By doing so Angelou got the
readers to get more personally involved in the poem
emotionally which helps to make readers realize
how humans are all guilty of discriminating others
in some form. The poem should be read with
confidence, especially in the parts �I�ll rise and
�I rise� to show the strong attitude the person
(�I�) has about them self. In some lines for
example ��Cause I laugh like I�ve got gold
mines� the tone changes almost to a point where
the reader is chuckling like how it says in the poem.
The main theme in the poem Still I Rise is
discrimination. This poem portrays a strong person
living with a positive attitude. Although the poem
was written in 1978, the message portrayed in it is
very powerful and can be related by anyone even in
this time period. This poem is very straightforward
which makes the message that much more
meaningful and affective. At some point in life
everybody experiences discrimination, although it
may be in different ways and extents it is a struggle
that all people go through within their lifetime. This
poem teaches readers that all humans have strength
that lays within us that can help to overcome any
obstacles. This poem also makes readers realize the
importance of having pride and hope in ourselves.
The line �Bringing the gifts that my ancestors
gave� shows the importance of having
appreciation in those in previous generations for
what they have done for us and what they have left.
Also, the line �I am the dream and the hope of the
slave� shows how Angelou believes that one
person stepping up to make a difference or to have
their voices heard will not only help themselves, but
it also has a potential of helping those who are also
suffering from the same or similar discrimination.
There are many forms of discrimination, and there
is always someone in the world trying to overcome
these obstacles, hence why this poem is still famous
and read today. Through this poem Angelou created
an inspiring message for those who were also
suffering what she had suffered, racism and
stereotypes due to her gender. There are also many
other inspirational people who have fought for the
rights of their own and also for the rights of others,
and Jackie Robinson and Abraham Lincoln are
prime examples. Jackie Robinson was the first black
man to become a professional baseball player. He
proved many people that race does not determine
how well of a player someone can be. Robinson
broke the separation among the different races and
what he did also contributed to the Civil Rights
Movement. Abraham Lincoln is considered to be
one of the most memorable U.S. presidents of all
times, this is because he fought for the rights of
black people and freeing slaves and Southerners.
What this heroic man did changed the lives of many
people at that time and has also influenced the lives
of many people today. The reason why people argue
is to have their voices heard and because they are
trying to make some kind of difference. For
example, a child may cry and wine to their parents
so their voices can be heard and because they want
to be understood and they are too young to know
any other ways of doing this but to wine or cry.
Trying to have your voice heard and trying to prove
your rights for yourself and for others is not easy, it
requires a lot of courage and commitment, however
once a person can overcome the obstacles that they
face throughout their way they can create a big
difference. Humans are very strong, we have so
much potential that we should pride and have faith
in, and we are to not allow anything to stop us from
becoming a strong independent person; this strong
message is portrayed throughout this poem through
the eyes of a person struggling from discrimination,
a struggle humans all go through and a one that
everyone can relate to.
This poem is written with Maya Angelou herself as
the speaker. She is speaking to her audience of
oppressors about how she has overcome racism,
criticism, sexism, and personal obstacles in her life
with pride and grace. This poem is historically
rooted with the mentions of slavery, a �past of
pain,� and �gifts of ancestors,� however she is
speaking in the present having overcome all of the
hardships of her past and embarking on the rest of
her journey with the knowledge that she is a strong
African American woman. Still I Rise is about
overcoming oppression with grace and pride,
having no sympathy for the oppressors and giving
to validity to the reasons for oppression.
There is rhyme every other line for most of the
poem that immediately guides the reader through
the poem. The phrases �I rise� and �Still I rise�
are used repetetively throughout the poem to show
that the speaker continues to overcome each
situation of oppression and each oppressor.
Imagery is dominant in this poem, especially after
Angelou questions her oppressors. She gives the us
images like �I walk like I�ve got oil wells
/Pumping in my living room� and �Shoulders
falling down like teardrops� and � I dance like
I�ve got diamonds/ At the meeting of my thighs.�
There is also the repeating image of air and dust
rising. Much of her imagery is conveyed through
similes and metaphors. This usuage of figurative
languages gives us a very clear picture of what
Angelou means and usually conveys a strong
emotion. For example, when Angelou says
�Shoulders falling down like teardrops,� we get
an image of drooping shoulders (like the shape of a
tear) and the tear itself is immediately associated
with sadness. The two of these combined makes the
images even stronger. The poem is more a narrative
than anything else because Angelou interacts with
her audience as she talks about the highs and lows
of her life and histo

| Posted on 2013-01-25 | by a guest

.: :.

This is powerful in the words and meaning, I am a

Junior and I\'m doing a research paper on her and
she is a phenomenal woman and writer..

| Posted on 2012-12-18 | by a guest

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i think this poem means that no matter what, you

should contine to up with your head held high at all
times, with pride and grace.

| Posted on 2012-06-21 | by a guest

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Maya Angelou can be described with one

word:GREATNESS. Her high self-esteem shown in
this poem is a reminder to all african american
women that we are our ancestor\'s keeper.
Everything we do in life has consequences but also
rewards. /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./

| Posted on 2012-04-25 | by a guest

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im in year 11 and i have to annotate this poem for

my english assignment. obviously being black, one
of the poems that popped into my mind was this
one. i love my black history, and you know what,
without slaves or racism our world wouldnt be
what it is today. people would not be as close as they
are today. nowadays you see black people so close to
white people because of histories past. i know for a
fact that god does every for a good reason, and so
ironically i wouldnt want to have history changed
because it makes me who i am today. i thank my
ancestors and slaves because they make me
stronger and more immune to pain.
peace.

| Posted on 2012-03-27 | by a guest

.: :.

im in 6 th grade to and im doin it for a project it so

awesome

| Posted on 2012-03-03 | by a guest

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I used to be a poet like you until I took an arrow to

the knee!

| Posted on 2012-03-02 | by a guest

.: :.

I LOVE THIS POEM. This my most favorite poem

that realy means alot. It means dont worry about
what other people say about you or doubt you cuz
you know u can do it and just be brave and all those
who doubted you are goin to come back to you wen
u succed

| Posted on 2012-02-24 | by a guest

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I love this poem and Im studing it for my LAMDA

Examination. It\'s great. May God Bless her.

| Posted on 2012-01-04 | by a guest

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\"Still i rise\" is a remarkable poem with themes of

racism and discrimination shown to a women and
her ancestors through slavery but unlike most
slaves she stands tall and doesnt let anything or
anyone put her down she is who she is and no one is
going to change that she uses rhetorical questions to
show her confidence this is a great peom i hope i
pass my exam discussing it!

| Posted on 2011-10-24 | by a guest

.: :.

still I rise is a poem which is a sort of

encouragement not only for women but also to
men... it says that whatever or however the society
discriminates you.. you yourself should know how
to rise.. be courage....

| Posted on 2011-09-16 | by a guest

.: :.

Sup Cousins im 14 and im from Australia, I have just

finished deconstructing this poem and i was
surprised at the amount of poetic devices she used
eg. like air i rise is a simile repeated throught the
poem and methphors like You may shoot me with
your word, cut me with your lies and kill me with
your hatefulness Maya is one awesome poet. The
message I got from it was you must resist
oppression, discrimination and belittling and move
foward with you life.

| Posted on 2011-08-28 | by a guest

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this poem iz awesome GUYZ!!! im doing it for a

project. im in 6th grade. the meaning is that no
matter what happens u should not give up!!:)

| Posted on 2011-05-30 | by a guest

.: :.

so guys.
dis is lyk clearly the bust poem out dere. guys. keep
listeninng. guys. i find eet like gud. so so gud. guys.
keep listening. i got ijmportnt stuff to say. guys. its so
gud. ex oh.

| Posted on 2011-05-23 | by a guest

.: :.

i love this poem so much!! maya angelou tells us

how even through hardships and histories cruelty
and past, she rises up. this poem is an indication of
the infinite power of angelous reilience!

| Posted on 2011-03-03 | by a guest

.: :.

I believe this is one of the most amazing piece of

work.I love this poem dearly for the simple fact that
it can change a person\'s change of thought. A
person can see positive and not let anything take
over them.
Selena Downs

| Posted on 2011-03-01 | by a guest

.: :.

Always believe i yourself, and dont let other people

put you down.
From Ben Stiller

| Posted on 2011-02-06 | by a guest

.: :.

I think that in this poem that she is explaining that

yeah she is a slave and you may be thinking im
gonna become nothing and die being nothing but
soon im gonna prove you wrong and im gonna
make something of myself. Then one day your
gonna apoligise for what you did and said to me.
And that no matter what im gonna rise above you
everytime and that your jelouse of me. thats why
you treat me the way you do. that is what i think she
is saying in this masterpiece of hers.

| Posted on 2011-01-30 | by a guest

.: :.

this shows i can go through any words evenif it

hurts me

| Posted on 2011-01-26 | by a guest

.: :.

Reading this poem brought a lot of things into mind.

I believe this poem is an assurance to others that no
matter what the situation, how hard someone is
trying to belittle you or how bad it can be, like her,
you can overcome it and learn from it. Growing up
maya angelou had to fight racism. People were
constantly scrutinizing her for who she was, dissing
her and putting her through a terrible time, yet she
still held on to hope and loved herself for being who
she was. I think we all need to learn from her and
take on her example.

| Posted on 2011-01-12 | by a guest

.: :.

since life has a cyclical and an unending structure,

one can and has the right to take pride in its
imaginary conditions...atleast \"hope\" is an
individual domain, which does not requires
permission...falling in love with this poem...

| Posted on 2010-12-16 | by a guest

.: :.

This POEM DESCRIBES THE TOUGH UPBRINGING

SHE HAS HAD TO FACE AS MAYBE ALWAYS BEING
THE ONLY BLACK PERSON IN THE CLASS. ALSO
SHE IS FIT SO PEOPLE DONT WANT HER BECAUSE
SHE IS A \'NEGRO\'

| Posted on 2010-11-26 | by a guest

.: :.

dis poem bout a guud lyfe growinnnn upp stronga

nd makin betta tymes in a bad situation. ok. its a
gud poem for everyone to readdd

| Posted on 2010-11-22 | by a guest

.: :.

Aight so hear me out nuckas

So is like dis, aight?
Der\'s dis Gansta, his names Stilleyerize, right?
Guys stay with me
Guys
...Guys listen
So stilleyerize
Guys
Guys listen, are you listening
So it\'s about stilleyerize and slavery and opression
nd makin wrld good, right
Guys?

| Posted on 2010-11-15 | by a guest

.: :.

i tink its bout guy who dus gud and halps kep world
big and guud.

| Posted on 2010-11-10 | by a guest

.: :.

i think that this is an amazing poem and something

that i think is very intresting is how she says she
sexy, and at the time in which this poem was made
the sexiness of a women was something that was
not usually talked about, also the part \" like i have
diamonds at the meeting of my thighs

| Posted on 2010-09-27 | by a guest

.: :.

This poem is excellent it describes how much

struggle she went through and even though she was
put through bad things she said still i rise

| Posted on 2010-09-20 | by a guest

.: :.

This is an amazing poem about rising above

stereotypes as well as moving forward. It uses
varied sentence types, tone, imagery, and similes to
highlight the frustration the speaker feels toward
others\' treatment of her. Maya Angelou is a truely
amazing poet.

| Posted on 2010-09-18 | by a guest

.: :.

the poem is really nice i dont really think of it as a

racism thing but i feel it just has to do with people
hatin and always wanting to see someone down and
lower then themselves and i also feel shes explaning
how if the haters try and get to her and push her
down no matter what shes still gonna rise

| Posted on 2010-09-15 | by a guest

.: :.

This poems is aboot racisms and things likes that.

And how linkin parks are oppresive to listens to.

| Posted on 2010-09-13 | by a guest

.: :.

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 have faced trails
and tribulations in their lives.Still I rise has many
different meanings to many different people but
one common message stands tall and that is no
matter what struggle you face in life you have the
ability to rise above it. Maya\'s poem reflects a lot on
human nature and the inner strength we all have to
fight back against whatever life throws at us. I
personally love this poem as it has been my rock
and encouragement through all the bad times and
the good!

| Posted on 2010-08-30 | by a guest

.: :.

I THINK THE POEM IS BASICALLY ABOUT

INSPIRATION ONE GETS IN HIS/HER LIFE, IT TALKS
ABOUT RISING UP NO MATTER WHAT OBSTACLE
YOU MIGHT FACE AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND IN ANY
SITUATION U NEED TO RISE AND BE STRONG
BECAUSE TODAY IS OVER AND TOMORROW IS
WAITING,MEANING THINGS THAT HAPPENS
TODAY WON\'T BE THE SAME TOMORROW. WITH A
LITTLE ENTHUASTIC,BELIEVING IN OURSELVES,
STANDING TALL AND KEEPING OUR HEAD UP
HIGH.IT IS A GREAT POEM I\'VE EVER READ,I CAN
RELATE TO IT.

| Posted on 2010-08-18 | by a guest

.: :.

I think that this poem has universal messages. Yes,

one can see the theme of slave oppression but I
think this poem is about surviving any oppressive
relationship. It can also be interpreted as a woman
surviving an abusive relationship with a man and
overcoming her subordanace. I think most abused
woman can relate to this. I guess this is why the
poem is so powerful as its theme is about
overcoming oppression and dominance and rebirth.

| Posted on 2010-08-17 | by a guest

.: :.

this poem is a good poem

i like how the author expressed her feeling strongly

| Posted on 2010-05-15 | by a guest

.: :.

This poem refers to the way black people used to be

descriminated against profusely and how they were
at the suffering end of inequality for a long period
of time. However Maya Angelou dismisses the
common stereotypes of her race and stands up to
the people who treated her ancestors so badly. She
uses many literal devices to emphasise the meaning
begind her words and her poem is full of emotive
imagery that allows the reader to connect to what
she is saying.
becca
 | Posted on 2010-05-12 | by a guest

.: :.

Its truely insperational a story about her rising

above stereotypes and how she has been treated xx

| Posted on 2010-05-09 | by a guest

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