Maya Angelou Metaphors

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Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson Angelou on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was 86 years old when she passed away on May 28, 2014 at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Maya). Angelou was and continues to be one of the most well known poets and award-winning authors; She is also a woman of many firsts. In her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, She made literary history by becoming the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman (Maya). Also, during World War II, she made history by becoming the first african american female cable car conductor when she moved to San Francisco, California, where was on a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School (Maya).
These history making experiences and the events from her childhood were the largest influences on her life and her literary works. When her parents …show more content…

These include “like dust, I'll rise”(l. 4), “like moons and like suns”(l. 9), and “like air, I’ll rise”(l. 24). These similes are directly used to compare Angelou. There are other comparisons as well, but these have more of a complex comparison. For example, with the quotes “I walk like I've got oil wells, Pumping in my living room”(l.7-8 ) and “I laugh like I've got gold mines, Diggin’ in my own backyard”(l. 19-20), Angelou is saying that she has a smooth walk, carefree laugh, and that both are as if she has all the confidence and pride possible. In the first line in the poem, she says “you may write me down in history, with your bitter, twisted lies”(l. 1-2 ). Angelou compares herself to something that is put in the past and lied about. People will talk and spread lies regarding you. This is inevitable however the important part is your response to the rumors, and that is the point Maya Angelou was making. You can knock us down with your hatefulness, but still we will rise better than ever with a new lesson

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