Symbolism In Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

706 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women in literature

Maya Angelou was a poet who was born in 1928 and passed away in 2014. The Poem “Still I Rise” can have a different meaning depending on who is reading it. To Maya Angelou it symbolizes her strength and courage to stand up to everyone who tried to bring her down and showed racism toward her in life. To others reading, it reveals the ability of humans being able to get past feeling hurt while delivering a sarcastic response for everyone who treated the writer poorly. “Still I Rise” shows how Maya used every day poetry writing to address the theme of racial discrimination. The poem depicts a person who has the ability to stay positive throughout her life in order to always move forward.
The narrator is a woman which is expressed in multiple …show more content…

One commonly used word is “you”. By opening up the first stanza as well as others with this pronoun it makes it seem as if it is referring directly to the reader as if sometimes anyone can hurt others in their own ways. In some lines where the pronoun is used the tone changes; it may seem as if what is being said is very serious whereas others seem to be more comical. In stanza one a serious tone is expressed and in the following stanza in doesn’t seem as serious and more easy going. By using more serious stanzas such as 1 and 3 the narrator is expressing the issue at hand and being able to overcome and difficulties that come her way. Two comical stanzas are 2 and 5 which reveal the confidence she has and how it makes others feel. The title of the poem “Still I Rise” is used frequently as well. The repetition of this word shows the strength it takes to overcome the things life throws at her. It also emphasizes the message for staying strong no matter how tough things are and not to let anything stand in the …show more content…

“Oil wells” (7), “gold mines (19), and diamonds (27) are all things that have a lot of worth and are listed in an order of increasing value. This could symbolize how the self-confidence Maya had throughout her life grew as she got older. Since all of these items are hidden inside the Earth and must be discovered. This could be compared to the characteristics people possess that are hidden at first until you get to know someone. “Sassiness” (5) and “sexiness” (25) are two things that can be hidden in places such as a “living room” (8) or “meeting of my thighs” (28).
The poem “Still I Rise” helps deliver a message for people inflict racism on others and for the people who suffer from it. It also helps with gender discrimination females sometimes receive. The poem explained how people may not always take others seriously and hear what they have to say. In order to be seen for who a person really is it takes dedication and bravery. There is always a way to overcome obstacles and keep moving forward no matter how hard it may

Show More
Related

  • Struggle In Harrison Bergeron And Still I Rise

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    No matter what happens, she will always keep her head up. “You may tread me in the very dirt/ but still, like dust, I’ll rise” (Angelou 3-4), she will go above whatever anyone says or does towards her. Maya is saying how she is going to rise like dust, rising up to get away from everyone and everything, but everything has to come down at some point, she’ll make a mess but quietly. No matter what someone does, she’ll rise above it all. “You may kill me with your hatefulness/ but still, like air, I’ll rise”(23-24), even if you kill her, Maya’ll just float up. She’s saying how she will go up and watch from above rather than with everyone else. While she’s had a hard life, she just keeps on moving forward. “Up from the past rooted in pain/ I rise”(31-32), after everything she has gone through, she won’t let this hold her back. Whatever you throw at Maya, she’s just going to put it behind her, it helps build up her ladder, it helps her rise. Remaining calm creates a ripple outward, sending off good, calm vibes in this time sets everyone else

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Maya Angelou's Champions Of The World

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Champions of the World,” is the nineteenth chapter in I Know Why the Caged Bird sings, is written by Maya Angelou. In this chapter, she talks about a African American community in the late 1930s in Arkansas, that are gathered one night in a store to listen to a boxing match which consists of African American professional boxer Joe Louis and his opponent that night was Primo Carnera, a white boxer from Italy. This fight is more than a physical fight for the African community. Joe Louis is seen as a hero in the African community because he is the one that represents the African community; their fate depends on Joe Louis victory. There is segregation happening during this time and the Jim Crow laws which impacted this area. People were feeling

    Read More

  • Biography Of Maya Angelou

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    All in all, Maya Angelou's poems have became more inspirational as there years went on and the African Americans got the rights they deserved. She used imagery and a lot of emotions through her poems, as if you could feel the pain they had went through. Her poems had plenty of hope in them. She was hoping for the best during the Civil Rights Movement. In I Know Why The Cage Birds Sing, you can feel how that poem changed from the negative times to the positive. She talked about how the American Dream of giving blacks rights before the movement they had no hope, but as the poem went on you can feel a more positive vibe of hope.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou!

    1917 Words  | 4 Pages

    Angaza, Maitefa. "A precious prism Maya." Black Issues Book Review. 01 Mar. 2001: 30. eLibrary. Web. 19 May. 2014.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelu Poem Analysis

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    Maya faced racial discrimination but ultimately turned the oppression she faced into motivation to express her rights, and become one of many faces of the civil rights movement. Throughout the course of her life Maya won numerous awards for her literature, becoming the first African American Woman to receive a nonfiction best seller and the first African American woman to have her own screenplay produced (Biography Editors, Maya Angelou Biography). She also recited one of her famous poems at Bill Clinton’s inauguration leading to her winning a Grammy Award for best audio poem, was the best seller for two years in the New York Times’ and won two awards from the NAACP for her civil rights literature (Biography Editors, Maya Angelou Biography). Maya’s poem “I Rise” demonstrates her poetic writing abilities and desire to overcome racism, oppression, and discrimination. Similarly to Bob Dylan’s song “Masters of War”, “I rise” uses repetition, similes, and rhyme.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou´s Bold Poetry

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    A tragic event took place in the life of Maya Angelou. She was a small child, only 7 years old. That would mean that she was only the age of a average 1st grader. She was sexually assaulted and raped by her mother’s boyfriend at the time. Maya was not allowed to see her mother very often and it is horrible that this had to happen at one of the only times she should have been so happy and enjoying herself. Maya lived very far away from her mother and usually was at her grandmother’s. These visits were few and far between to say the least. Shortly after this, Maya’s uncle killed the man who raped her in order to get revenge on him for what he had done. His actions, although meant to be good and for the better, messed things up even more. This did not help and added to the stress of the entire situation. It was too much for Maya to handle all at one time and at such a young age. She stopped talking for a very long time. It was very hard for her to cope with what had happened. Maya’s poetry conveys the sadness and the struggle that she went through in this time of her life. Maya Angelou's poetry contains bold messages and gives a voice to individuals who, at times, do not have the courage or ability to speak for themselves. Just as she did not have the ability to speak for all those years, she is an example to others in situations that are similar to her own. Three poems that the subject of empowerment is very profound in are “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”, “Still I Rise”, and “Phenomenal Woman.”

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou: The Strength of the Human Spirit

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    This poem is structured within eight stanzas, the first seven stanzas contain four lines within each stanza, however,the last stanza contains fifteen lines, with major emphasis on, “I rise”. The last fifteen lines may have been used to conclude the poem at the end, for one last time show the audience her head held up high. During the poem, the tone throughout is positive and negative, although you may hear the strength and passion in her voice about overcoming these problems, she still presents anger. This allows the reader to experience in sections how Angelou really felt.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou Ethos

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    She does a great job at using both of the appeals in “Still I Rise”. Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, an educator, and a poet. Maya Angelou’s constant use of “I” or “my” in her poem is her greatest use of ethos. This poem is her story so she is telling it from experience. For example, when Maya says “Does my sassiness upset you?” (Angelou 5) she draws in the audience by speaking of herself. She lets the audience know that this is a real thing. Another way that Angelou draws in her audience with ethos is when she says “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (Angelou 39-40) That quote gives Maya Angelou credibility because she knows the hardships of slavery and racism because of her ancestors and culture. The second and most effectively used rhetorical device used is pathos. The entire poem draws in the audience emotionally, even from the first sentence. I believe she was so great at using pathos because it was from her heart. She lived through it, she went through the pain, and she overcame that pain. She was passionate about what she was writing and you could absolutely feel it just by reading it. A great example of pathos and one of my favorite “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.” (Angelou 21-24) Maya’s use of words in this stanza appeals to the audience emotionally. While reading it, you feel like those things are directly happening to you. The other use of pathos that is effective is when she claims that she will rise. It appeals emotionally because it gives the audience hope, strength, and determination that they can rise. The more it’s repeated, the more effective it is. The more you say it, the more that she and the audience believe that it is true. The last example of how this poem appeals emotionally is when she says “Does my

    Read More

  • A Biography: A Biographical Biography Of Maya Angelou

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Still I Rise." Poetry for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 38. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 218-236. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Perspectives on Hope: Eudora Welty's A Worn Path, and Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    The emotion of hope is important because life is uncertain. Factors such as wealth, education and opportunity may play a role in dividing people into different social categories, but no amount of privilege or advantage can shield a person from disappointment, pain, loss or death. These are universal adversities for all humankind. The word hope can be defined in different ways. Many religious people think of hope as a virtue, along with faith and love. Survivors of trauma often credit hope as the inspiration that kept them going. A realists may say that hope is nothing more than wishful thinking. No matter how it is defined, whether it is a belief or a feeling, hope is the idea of something bigger than oneself. The application of hope can provide comfort, strength and encouragement. Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” is a story of one woman’s hopeful, determined journey. Overcoming every obstacle and distraction in her path, she perseveres in order to complete her objective. Similarly, Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” tells the story of strength and resilience during adversity. The poem is a celebration of the endurance and hope of the African-American race. While both of these narratives highlight the unfortunate American history of racism, the stories also relate the importance of hope and the impact it can have on one’s life. During times of adversity, the human spirit is strengthened and inspired by the emotion of hope.

    Read More

  • Racism In Maya Angelou

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou “Quotes”). Maya Angelou is an African American author who wanted the whole world to know who she was. Even though Maya Angelou’s life was full of disappointments and miseries, she still managed to rise above them all to become a successful poet. Racism played a really big role in Maya Angelou’s life. Maya Angelou witnessed slavery when she was very young and wished that someday all men will be free. Maya Angelou had many difficulties, and her family was one of them. None of her marriages worked out, and had a son to raise on her own.

    Read More

  • Comparing Life Doesn't Frighten Me and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... "I rise, I rise, I rise" The evidence above demonstrates that life doesn't frighten me. where the repetition is used to comfort her, in still I rise repetition is used to stress her confidence in a brighter future. therefore the poem ends in hope.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou Phenomenal Woman Analysis

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    Maya Angelou is a very inspiring and courageous woman who says how she feels through her poems without coming off in a hateful manner, but rather a sophisticated and intelligent way. Her poems varies between subjects such as love, passion,racism and the way of life. However, in her poem “Phenomenal Woman” she speaks for all women around the world who doesn’t feel they fit in with today’s society.

    Read More

  • Maya Angelou's Phenomenal Woman As A Phenomenal Woman

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    It’s about confidence in oneself. Maya Angelou had a very hard upbringing, poverty, and rape at a young age. She was a victim of discrimination, abuse by men, and even turning to prostitution. She rebounded by finding the confidence and self-worth in herself. This poem is about how even though you may not be a classic beauty, your beauty lies in you and is exuded in being confident and the ability to believe in yourself.

    Read More

More about Symbolism In Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

Open Document