Review of the Poem 'Still I Rise' by Maya Angelou

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I chose the poem ‘Still I Rise’ by the legendary Maya Angelou because I admire how confident and resilient; she is despite the hardships she faced. Before we analyse the poem, let’s talk about Maya Angelou. Born at Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928 and died on the 28 of May 2014, at United States. She was an author, poet, civil right activist, songwriter, playwright, dancer, screen producer, director and singer. She was best known for her autobiographical writer.

Subject Matter

The poem by Maya Angelou narrates a story about racism and adversity, it is pointed for those oppressors in society to a history of racism that has been ended long ago but cannot be trusted upon. Her people were shown unfairly in previous, and she will rise above the brutality and pain they experienced. Throughout the poem the speaker is both confidence and outraged. Originally, she is confused by the way in which her oppressors or white people who despises her to achieve. She says that her happiness appears to make them feel sad, and she asks why that is. At the same moment, she insults those oppressors, accepting the effect of her actions and character in the fact that she baffles them with her power and confidence. The whole poem is a statement of power and determination. No matter what the oppressor does, to destroy her achievements or right she will always rise above the racism, pain and sexism to be the dominant woman she knows she is. Not only does the poem talks about resilience, but also speaks on behalf of other black people that there race is stronger than their oppressors.

Theme

One of the themes in the poem’ Still I Rise’ is self-respect and self-confidence. The poetry incorporates both concepts of how Angelou utilises different poetical techniques to conquer anything by her self-esteem. This is a perfect example from the poet, showing no matter the difficulties, obstacles or judgments, she faces and is to overcome, she won’t permit the hatefulness of society to ruin her own success or to affect her feeling of herself. The stanza of “You may kill me with your hate, you may trod me in the middle of the dirt but I will still, like poison, rise up”. The repeat of “I rise” shows the poet’s determination to stay strong.

Poetic Device

The poem, ‘Still I Rise’, utilises poetic devices to centre a strong denial and domination between brutal events and the speaker’s resilience to inspire the reader. The effective use of rhetorical questions in the fourth stanza states, “did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?”. Her choice of vocabulary; specifically, “broken, bowed, lowered”, creates an image of sadness in the readers mind. “Broken” may suggest suffering, “bowed head” signifies her admitting defeat whilst “lowered eyes” shows weakness. However, her phrasing as a rhetorical question mocks her haters attempt, denying the intentions and strengthening her resilience. “You may kill me with your hatefulness”, in the sixth stanza, is another very effective use of metaphor. Here, Angelou emphasis on the cruelty of hate whilst implying the extents her haters result in by stating “kill”. It offers the reader a sense of context as the hatefulness may represent the racism she faced. Following this metaphor is the use of the simile, ‘but just like life, I’ll rise’. The contradictory relationship between ‘kill’ and ‘life’ shows the difference between Angelou’s mindset against hate. Stating that she will rise above the hate proves her domination, inspiring the reader.

Emotion

The simple repetition of “I rise” throughout the poem allows readers to feel an immense swell of pride, sympathy and happiness with her spirited rejection of further oppression. Although Angelou has endured horrible cruelty of racism, she has beaten her oppressors by rising above them and standing tall.

Why This Poem Inspires Me

Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’ infamous poem deals with a horrific subject of White criticism and racism and yet, leaves readers such as myself to feel a sense of happiness and pride which has deeply motivated me. Moreover, the fact that she positions the audience to feel this way is an indication to Angelou’s skill as a poet. She has uniquely written the poem with various poetic devices to show us what she has experienced, indicating that she is truly a strong woman. She has shown readers that the human spirit can overcome any obstacles in life. Furthermore, her refusal to be “broken” is an inspiration to me as well as it should be to others.

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Review of the Poem ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou

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