Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou: poem analysis (2023)

Maya Angelou is one of the most important literary figures in 20th century American history.. His poetry often appears on high school English course reading lists and may even appear on the AP Literature exam.

In this article, we give you a thorough introduction to Angelou and her captivating poetry, so you can analyze it all for yourself. To do this,We will guide you through an in-depth analysis of one of Angelou's most famous poems, Still I Rise.

To help you understand what Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" is about, in this article we will cover:

• A Brief Introduction to the Poet Maya Angelou
• Background of poem "Still I Rise".
• The Comprehensive Meaning of "Still I Rise"
• The three main themes of the poem
• The two supreme poetic devices in the poem

Are you ready to dive in Let's go!

Maya Angelou was born in 2008 at Wake Forest University. (Kingofthedead/Wikimedia Commons)

Meet the poet Maya Angelou

To fully understand the meaning of a poem,It is important to first look at the life of the poet who wrote it.Why? Because poets sometimes refer to their own life experiences, relationships and personal identities in their works. In this case, we will look at the life of Maya Angelou, the poet who wrote the poem "Still I Rise".

Maya Angelou, first name Marguerite Annie Johnson, was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri.His father, Bailey Johnson, was a Navy security and nutritionist, and his mother, Vivian Johnson, a registered nurse and card dealer.

Growing up, Angelou's personal life was chaotic and emotionally draining at times.Angelou's parents divorced when she was three and her personal life began to falter. In the years that followed, Angelou and her brother were moved from place to place, including at their grandmother's home in Stamps, Arkansas.

After returning to St. Louis at the age of eight, Angelou was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend, Freeman. Angelou told her brother, who told the rest of the family, and Freeman was arrested and charged. He was only held in prison for one day, but he was murdered shortly after his release. Some scholars believe that Angelou's uncles were responsible and sought revenge for what Freeman did to Angelou.

After Freeman's murder, Angelou returned to her grandmother in Arkansas and spent five years virtually mute.It wasn't until a teacher and family friend, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, became interested in Angelou that she found her voice again.

Flowers introduced Angelou to authors such as William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe, as well as black artists such asFrances HarpereJessie Fauset. Years later, Angelou claimed that she could no longer speak, believing that her voice killed Freeman. She felt Freeman's murder was proof that her words had the power to kill. Despite that,It was during this difficult period in his life that Angelou's interest in poetry and writing began to take hold.During this time, she also graduated from high school and gave birth to her son Clyde at the age of seventeen.

Angelou married her first husband Enistasious Tosh Angelou in 1951. It was during this time that she began to take art more seriously.After their marriage ended in 1954, Angelou began dancing professionally in San Francisco clubs. Her managers at Purple Onion, a nightclub, suggested that she officially adopt the name "Maya Angelou", which she did.

In 1959, Angelou moved to New York City to focus on her writing career.she joineddie Harlem Writers Guild, where he met several other African-American authors and began publishing their work. In 1960, she met civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. after listening to him speak,Angelou started volunteering to support themSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)and position yourself as a political activist.

Angelou's writing career began when she and her son moved abroad in 1962. She worked as an editor at a newspaper in Cairo, Egypt and has also written for several publications in Ghana. Angelou also met and began working with human rights activists.Malcom Xduring his years in Africa. When she returned to the United States in 1964, Angelou Malcolm X helped establish the Organization of African American Unity. The organization disbanded when Malcolm X was assassinated the following year.

Angelou has come to write more intensely over the years after traveling extensively, witnessing the need for human and civil rights, and coming to terms with the assassination of fellow campaigners and friends Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.The 1970s saw Angelou's most prolific writing period,Write articles, short stories, TV scripts, documentaries, autobiographies and poetry.

Angelou's most famous work is probably his autobiography.I know why the bird in the cage sings,published in 1969. But Angelou's poetry is also highly acclaimed. Both her autobiography and poetry explore the complexities of her childhood in Missouri and Arkansas, racial discrimination, sexual assault, and womanhood.These works also emphasize the power of storytelling and the spoken word.– two themes that are also rooted in his childhood experiences.

Angelou continued to write, teach, speak and read poetry and participate in political campaigns until her death on May 28, 2014. She even directed a feature film!Angelou was a prolific artist whose work evokes powerful images of what it was like to be a Black child, a Black woman, and a Black artist in 20th-century America.

Want to hear Maya Angelou recite "Still I Rise" herself? Just click on the video above!

The poem "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou

"Still I Rise" was originally published in the 1978 collection of poems,And I still get upby Maya Angelou. Still I Rise is the book's title poem and plays a crucial role in developing the collection's key themes. This is alsoone of the best known and most read poems in this collection by Maya Angelou.

Before we can delve into the meaning of "Still I Rise", we actually have to.lerthe poem.Check out the full lyrics to Still I Rise below.

"Still I Rise" de Maya Angelou

Still I Rise was written to address the discrimination black people face due to systemic racism in the United States.

The background behind the poem "Still I Rise".

One way to discern a poem's meaning and themes is to look at its background, including experiences in the poet's life and broader historical events that may have influenced the poet.Still I Rise was written to portray black resilience in response to racial discrimination and injustice.

Still I Rise was written in the 1970s when Angelou was involved in civil and human rights movements, politically active and traveling to Africa. These experiences likely gave Angelou an intimate look at many forms of discrimination around the world.

Angelou also met and worked with some of the most inspiring leaders of the human and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. This means that while Angelou witnessed injustice, she was also able to see the united spirit of black resistance in action.These experiences of racism and resistance influenced Angelou's writing in the 1970s and shaped the themes of many of her poems, including Still I Rise.

In addition to these influences, Angelou also had a traumatizing childhood that included her own personal experiences of racial discrimination and sexual abuse.For Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise" and other poems are an outlet for processing this personal pain and finding ways to move past the wounds.inflicted on individuals and society.

Now it's time to do a little research and find out what Maya Angelou's poem is really about!

"Still I Rise": meaning and themes

Now let's go into more detail.the meaning of "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou.Go ahead and read the poem again to keep it fresh in your mind as we discuss the meaning and themes of the Still I Rise poem.

Meaning of the poem "Still I Rise".

The core meaning of "Still I Rise" can be summarized as follows:Despite America's violent and discriminatory treatment of black people, black resilience is an unstoppable forceand a glimmer of hope.

The title of the poem, "Still I Rise", suggests that the speaker of the poem is risingtrotzorin response tochallenging circumstances. As the poem developsWe learn that the speaker stands up in response to American society's hatred and oppression of black people.

The narrator of the poem is Black, which we learn from these two lines of the last stanza:

Bring the gifts my ancestors gave
I am the slave's dream and hope.

The speaker's reference to slavery and ancestry places her in a very specific cultural and racial role as a black person.

Furthermore, we see this blackness standing up against hatred, discrimination and oppression throughout the poem. For example, in the second stanza, the speaker of the poem asks the reader:

Do you mind my cheek?
Why are you tormented by darkness?
'Cause I walk like I got oil wells
bombs in my living room.

The fourth and fifth stanzas also pose questions and ask the reader:

Angelou opens each of these verses with questionsas she proclaims to all who participated in the oppression of blacks.She demands an explanation for her hatred, and each question identifies a specific instance or type of abuse. On behalf of blacks who have suffered discrimination, the speaker questions why blacks are treated with violence and contempt.

This becomes clear as the poem progresses.those who hate blacks dowellthe strength, beauty and resilience of black people...although the black community remains oppressed. We see this inparableswho liken the dark spirit to resources that are an endless source of wealth, such as "oil wells/pumps in [the speaker's] living room" and "gold mines/digging in [their] own backyard". Through these comparisons, Angelou asks the reader to reflect on why it is black people's enduring hope, joy, and strength that drives others to tear them down.

While the strength and beauty of the black feed hatred and intolerance,Angelou also portrays these qualities as the ultimate source of dark strength to continually rise up.The speaker argues that black people refuse to give up in the face of racism and oppression in society. Instead, they respond with remarkable force.

Now let's take a look at the three main themes that define Angelou's poem:the relationship between personal and collective experience, the irrationality of racial hatred, and the enduring nature of black resilience.

Angelou not only talks about how black people collectively experience racism, but also invites readers to examine their role in perpetuating racism.

Theme 1: The relationship between personal and collective experience

The first topic we will discuss, important for understanding Maya Angelou's Still I Rise, is the relationship between personal and collective experience.

first there istwo main characters in "Still I Rise": the poem's black speaker and the person they ask their questions to (the "you"/the addressee).

Let's look at the recipient of the poem. During "Still I Rise", the speaker of the poem addresses an unknown "you". At first glance, it might seem that this "you" could be anyone, but the deeper we delve into the poem, the clearer it becomes.Angelou goes to a certainTypePerson: anyone who despises or hurts black people because of their racial identity.

Therefore, although it appears that the speaker is addressing an individual when he says "you", he is actually referring to a group of like-minded people: all individuals who participate in racial discrimination. When you read "you" in the poem,That iswho should I keep in mind. In this way, Angelou aims at a collective experience of racism and racist behavior as the main theme of her poem.

But we can also break down the identity of the poem's "you" a little more.We can also read Angelou's use of "you" as his way of askingallReaders must look within themselves to see if they, too, are complicit in racism.

In other words, Angelou might ask us to examine ourselves for hidden biases: Are we experiencing any of the negative feelings toward black people that the "you" in the poem feels? And if we do, do we want to be included in this hateful "you"? By approaching the reader as a potential part of that "you", Angelou gives us the opportunity to reflect on our internalized biases and reject harmful biases that we may not realize we harbor.

In this way, Angelou creates a strong connection between collective action and our individual responsibility. It's easy to label a group of people "racist", but we must remember that this group is made up of individuals. More importantly, "Still I Rise" argues thatIt is our responsibility to ensure that our own individual ideas, beliefs and actions do not feed into any system.that harms others.

The poem's narrator also shows the relationship between our individual selves and collective experiences.Throughout the poem, the speaker refers to himself in the first person, often using "I" and "mine" to refer to his experiences of racial discrimination.

But in the first and last stanzas of the poem, Angelou's narrator points out that his experiences are common and shared by black people.The speaker does this by pointing to history's role in documenting both the oppression of blacks and their response to that oppression.

Throughout the poem, the speaker's individual experiences connect with the collective experiences of black people. If the speaker "stands up" from each individual attempt to break or crush him, black people as a whole do. This is made clear in the following stanza:

Leave the nights of terror and fear behind
I get up
On a dawn that's wonderfully clear
I get up
Bring the gifts my ancestors gave
I am the slave's dream and hope.
I get up
I get up
I get up.

In this last stanza of the poem, the speaker reveals that his resilience and that of his people stem from a shared and lasting collective experience.When the speaker speaks of "the gifts of my ancestors," he is speaking of how the strength of blacks in the past sustains the black community in the present.This is the historical narrative that truly defines who she is - not the bitter, twisted lies of her oppressors.

so in this caseThe speaker's individual decision to take a stand in the face of discrimination contributes to that of blackscollective experiencein the face of racism. And, most importantly, your individual actions will also help future generations grow even more.

Theme 2: The irrationality of racism

Another major theme that Angelou portrays in "Still I Rise" is the irrationality of racism. Angelou conveys this theme through rhetorical questions that show that the reasons people give for hating black people are trivial.

The "you" addressed by the speaker in the poem is portrayed as angry and offended because the speaker is brash, hopeful, arrogant, and sexy.Those seem like weird things to hate on someone, right? And you certainly wouldn'tsuppresssomeone just because they exhibit these qualities!

That isExactlyAngelou's point in this poem.It shows that black people's hatred and fear are irrational.The "bitter and twisted lies" that defined America's understanding of black people from the earliest days of the country's existence made no sense at the time, and Still I Rise argues that they make no sense today. The poem reiterates that lies that portray black people as dangerous or "less than" others are baseless and untrue.

Instead, the speaker rewrites the history of who they are to stand up against the hateful "you".they address in the poem.By revealing the truth about who she is - sassy, ​​sexy,Mensch-She challenges the historical lies that underpin racist ideas. Asking the "you" if she is offended and upset about who she issamethat is, Angelou's spokesperson exposes the irrationality of anti-Black hatred.

Theme 3: The Enduring Nature of Black Resilience

A final central theme that characterizes "Still I Rise" is the enduring nature of black resilience. Throughout the poem, the speaker portrays the nature of his resilience through comparisons to things known for their toughness or toughness.Ultimately, these comparisons between speaker resilience and things that last epitomize the resilient spirit of black people in general.

Angelou's speaker characterizes their resilience as similar to things in the natural world, resisting the wear and tear that occurs over time. For example, Angelou tells the "you" of the poem that as long as they are "trodden down to earth" they will rise like "dust". And just like the moon, sun and ocean tides – all of which rise and fall – the speaker will continue to rise.

Angelou makes these comparisons to represent the speaker's resilience in a certain way. Like the "certainty" of the sun and moon patterns, the speaker's resilience is certain. It will not fade or diminish; will last.The speaker assures the "thou" of the poem that no matter what the speaker says or does, no matter what happens, the speaker will rise.

References to human activities such as oil extraction and gold prospecting also illustrate the importance and value of resilience.

The narrator says they walk around like they have oil wells pumping in their living room and she laughs like they have gold mines in their backyard. Not the speaker of the poem, of coursein realitythey have oil wells and gold mines. Instead,The speaker makes these comparisons to show that his enduring spirit is more precious than oil and more precious than gold.

Ultimately, the speaker of the poem realizes that the "you" of the poem cannot understand the value of the speaker's resilience, nor can it diminish the driving force behind the speaker's resilient mind.

The 2 main poetic devices in "Still I Rise"

poetic meansare literary devices that poets use to enhance and create the structure, tone, rhythm, and meaning of a poem. In Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" Angelou usesRepetition and rhetorical questionsto reinforce the meaning of your poem.

Poetic Device 1: Repetition

repetitionoften used in poetry to solidify a key idea or theme. Just like the chorus of a song, repetition can also be used to create a specific rhythmic effect and set the mood of a poem. In "Still I Rise"Angelou's narrator repeats the chorus "Still I rise" and "I rise" to convey the power of black resilience and establish a triumphton.

The repetition of "I still get up" and "I get up" is builta stark contrast between the hateful actions of the poem's "thou" and the unyielding response of the poem's speaker.Angelou describes how the "you" of the poem tries to keep the speaker down. The "you" addressed by the speaker can "kick her to the ground", "shoot her with his words", and "cut her with his eyes". These actions are all designed to break the speaker's spirit. But in response to each of these attempts to suppress them, the speaker repeats the phrase: "I rise."

in order ofWhile the hatred portrayed in the poem is dirty and low, the speaker's opposition rises far above this type of exchange.Instead of responding with hate, the speaker walks, laughs and dances, rejecting the lies of those who seek to oppress him.

The repetition of the phrase "I rise" is also symbolic: it conveys the ongoing resilience of the black spirit in response to ongoing racism and discrimination. With each repetition of "I rise" the reader gets a sense of how strong and resilient the speaker is.This repetition underscores the speaker's message that attempts to hold back black people will never succeed.As the eighth stanza of the poem says, black resilience is like the ocean:

From a past rooted in pain
I get up
I am a black ocean, bouncy and wide
I carry waves and ripples on the tide.

In other words, “stand up” is not something the speaker, and by extension black people, do just once. Because of racial oppressionin addition to that, moreoverkeep going, black people are still standing.

Poetic device 2: rhetorical questions

rhetorical questionsare the other main poetic device used by Angelou to convey the meaning of "Still I Rise".Rhetorical questions are questions an author asks to get the reader to find their own answer - and to think more deeply about complicated issues in the processes. Writers often use rhetorical questions to guide readers toward answers that reinforce the poem's message.

In "Still I Rise", rhetorical questions appear at the beginning of four stanzas. Every rhetorical question in this poem is addressed to the "you" of the poem. Each question asks how the speaker insults the recipient. This technique allowsinvestigating angelouwhythe addressee hates the speaker... which also allows him to shed light on the flimsy reasons behind racism.

The repetition of these rhetorical questions creates a tone that feels more like an interrogation than a conversation - and that's intentional.Every rhetorical question addressed to the odious "you" in the poem serves to condemn its odiousness,especially when Angelou's voice actress starts answering the questions herself.

In addition, the speaker answers the rhetorical questions for the reader in turnto help readers see the secondary motivations behind his hatred of black people.Take, for example, the sequence of questions and answers in the fifth stanza of the poem:

Does my pride offend you?
Don't take it too seriously
Because I laugh like I have gold mines
Dig in my own backyard.

The above stanza begins with a rhetorical question to the reader about pride. But Angelou's spokesperson also answers the question and reveals that yes.already You knowthe "you" of the poem is offended by her arrogance.

Finally, Angelou uses rhetorical questions to ask the collective “you” addressed in the poem to think about its own hatred and bigotry. By answering these questions with declarative statements throughout the poem, Angelou signals to the "you" of the poem that black peoplethey are notconfused about where this hate comes from. They understand that Black people's refusal to back down in the face of continued lies and cuts only enrages those filled with hate.

In fact, these rhetorical questions, brought together in the poem, convey an attitude of defiance.They make the poem's "thou" ask itself, in essence, "Did you really think your hate could hold us back?" However, Angelou mentions anti-black violence with every rhetorical question and provides a robust response to every cut in her mind. answers communicates, she emphasizes how strong black people are.

What is the next?

Analyzing poetry can be difficult, so it helps to read some expert reviews.We have a lot inour blogthat you can read, like thisDylan Thomas' "Don't Walk Softly On This Good Night"orthis article that explains 10 different sonnets!

It's so much easier to analyze poetry when you have the right tools for it!Don't miss our in-depth guides on poetic deviceshe likesassonance,Pentâmetro jambischer, esuggestion.

if you care moreWritePoetry, instead of analyzing it, we cover it!Here they areFive great tips for writing poetry(esome scholarships for aspiring poets, Furthermore).