Poems are a way of expressing the feelings and emotions that the writer chooses to describe, usually using symbolic objects and comparing it to another thing using figurative language. There were many poets that came and went throughout history and there are still a lot today, one of which really caught my attention and her name is Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou is a very astounding poet with her 166 poems, but one really stood out to me and that was The Lesson. Maya Angelou had a very difficult life with the many challenges she faced being an African American during the timeframe of her life and she outlined these troubles in most of her writings. With her circumstances she just kept moving forward and giving it her best without giving up; she is a great model for anyone to follow. Maya Angelou got her writer name from her brother who didn’t know how to speak very well. Her full name is Marguerite Annie Johnson, but since her brother couldn’t pronounce it he would just call her “my” until he read a book about the Maya Indians and upon calling her Maya it just stuck (Maya Angelou Biography -- Academy of Achievement). She felt that she killed a man (her mother’s boyfriend) when she was young, because she told her brother that this man had molested her and five years later he was killed by an uncle, this caused her not to talk until she was 13 and went to see her mother in Chicago. She went to a school and learned a lot about her arts choices, but she dropped out to become the first African American cable car driver. She came back to school on a scholarship and she learn more about poetry and political aspects. She had a son named Guy and her mom being a nightclub singer met a sailor. They moved to Cairo and she wrote newspaper artic... ... middle of paper ... ...ouble, but always leaving me with a happy ending. Maya Angelou had a very difficult life with the many challenges she faced being an African American during the timeframe of her life and she outlined these troubles in most of her writings. Given her circumstances she just kept moving forward and giving it her best without giving up and look at her now, she is a great model for anyone to follow. Works Cited Maya Angelou by DC Aries | Humanities 360." N.p., Web. . "Maya Angelou - Biography." N.p., Web. . "Maya Angelou Biography -- Academy of Achievement." Academy of Achievement Main Menu. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. "Maya Angelou." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. "poetryfoudation.org." N.p., Web. .
In her autobiography, Maya Angelou tells the story of her coming into womanhood in the American South during the 1930s. She begins with the story of an incident she had on Easter Sunday in which she’s in church reciting a poem in front of everyone; however, she messes up leaving her unable to finish the poem, so she runs out of the church crying and wets herself. Growing up her parents had a rough marriage, and eventually they got a divorce when Maya was only 3 years old. Their parents send her and her older brother Bailey to live with their grandmother Mrs. Annie Henderson in Staples, Arkansas. Staples is a very rural area and their grandmother owns the only store in the black section of the town, so she is very respected amongst the people
“Champion of the World” by Maya Angelou is an entertaining story about Joe Louis winning a fight and becoming champion of the world. Angelou uses figurative language, strong descriptive dialogue, and names of specific products to capture the reader’s attention throughout the entire
Maya Angelou is one of the well-respected African-American women figures. Maya is a poet, actress, civil right activist, dancer, singer, writer, educator, and a director. Maya’s real name is Marguerite Johnson. Maya was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. Maya’s parents divorced when she was three. She was sent to live with her brother and grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. She was very close to her brother Bailey and her brother named her Maya. When she lived in Arkansas, she experienced discrimination towards African-American. At the age of seven Maya was sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. “She only told her brother,” but a few days later her uncle has murdered the man who assaulted her. She thought her words have killed
"Angelou, Maya (née Marguerite Annie Johnson)." Encyclopedia of African-american Writing. Amenia: Grey House Publishing, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 12 March 2014.
In her first autobiography, Maya Angelou tells about her childhood through her graduation through, “Graduation”, from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” when she is about to graduate. She starts as an excited graduate because she was finally going to receive her diploma, a reward for all her academic accomplishments. On the day of her graduation finally comes, that happiness turns into doubt about her future as she believes that black people will be nothing more than potential athletes or servants to white people. It wasn’t until Henry Reed started to sing the Negro National Anthem that she felt on top of the world again. Throughout her graduation she felt excited to disappointed, until Henry Reed sang and made her feel better.
Born on April 4th, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Angelou was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. In Stamps, Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.
Hanford, Mary. Maya Angelou. New Jersey: Salem, 2006. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
Maya Angelou is one of the most known African American poets."Dr. Angelou’s words and actions continue to stir our souls, energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and heal our hearts." (http://mayaangelou.com/bio/) She was born on April 4th 1928, in the South St. Louis, Missouri. This period was when the most racism was going on. It was quite over with yet, segregation was still a huge series going on. Maya Angelou was greatly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement was a movements in the United States which they has a goal was to end segregation and discrimination against African Americans, or Blacks and give them their voting rights. I believe that Maya Angelou's writing has became more positive after the Civil Right Movement had taken place, it had inspiration and was hoping for the blacks to succeed the goal trying to get reached of them to became more civilized.
Angelou, Maya, Diego Rivera, and Linda Sunshine. Still I Rise. New York: Random House, 2001. Print.
The Web. 22 Feb. 2012. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/angelou.html>. Gaines, Malendie. Maya Angelou's Influence on the World.
Maya Angelou is a internationally respected, brilliant poet, and author. Maya Angelou says "In all my work I try to tell the human truth, what it is like to be human, what makes us stumble and somehow miraculously rise and go on from the darkness and into the light”. This theme is consistently exemplified throughout Angelou's greatly acclaimed poem ‘Still I rise’. The poem shows us the true life story of Maya Angelou's tragedies, and their dreadful conditions she had encountered in her youth. But in Angelou's poem, she escapes the night to go into the light, leaving all the hurt and shame to prosper in a new life she has created.
Maya Angelou is an author and poet who has risen to fame for her emotionally filled novels and her deep, heartfelt poetry. Her novels mainly focus on her life and humanity with special emphasis on her ideas of what it means to live. The way she utilizes many different styles to grab and keep readers’ attention through something as simple as an autobiography is astounding. This command of the English language and the grace with which she writes allows for a pleasant reading experience. Her style is especially prominent in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", where the early events of Angelou’s life are vividly described to the reader in the postmodern literary fashion.
Throughout all works of literature, the daily events affecting the lives of the authors can be found in many different pieces of their work. Although it may not be a direct relation to what these authors experience, they often relate the themselves to their narrators through many different literary devices. However, these processes really stand out through the works of Maya Angelou. Through the use of metaphors and similes, Angelou relates her writings back to the harsh conditions of the socially unjustified period of the 1930’s onward; explaining the restraints placed upon both herself and her race by those who considered themselves to be her superiors.
Craddock, Terence George. (2011). Maya Angelou: A Phenomenal Woman? Retrieved February 20, 2011 from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/maya-angelou-a-phenomenal-woman/
Society creates the thought of what makes an ideal woman; however, Maya Angelou shows us what truly makes an authentic woman in her poem, “Phenomenal Woman.” The word “Phenomenal” is defined as something that is magnificent, remarkable, breathtaking, as well as extraordinary. This poem illustrates confidence and beauty from within, instead of the conventional view that society tends to have, which only focuses on the appearance. She shows how to acknowledge womanhood. One is able to appreciate the poem, even further, by analyzing many of the poetry elements that Maya Angelou illustrates, such as imagery, tone, and diction.