Multiculturalism And Irony In Maya Angelou's Still I Rise

“Still I Rise”, a poem by Maya Angelou, I chose primarily because I have always had great respect for the author and her work. After initially reading this particular poem, I felt a great sense of courage that it must have took to live through this era in regards to women 's rights especially that of African American women.

The use of the adjectives “sassiness”, “haughtiness”, and “sexiness” convey the message to the reader that the person that this poem describes is powerful, not to be discounted or cast aside hidden away in silence. The first person technique used in the repeated verse and title, “Still I Rise”, demonstrates that the poem is indeed referring to the author. As a reader, I perceived the recurrent use of the verse “Still

The Post-Modern period differed from previous periods in the way of blending various cultures in common societies, multiculturalism. The Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s was crucial during this time period, particularly for African American women. Maya marched and rallied for the rights of African Americans amongst many other civil rights activists such as Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. The Civil Rights Movement was less than 20 years previous to Maya Angelou publishing “Still I Rise”. This movement was a turning point among cultures not present in previous periods. Ironically, the piece has a punchy quality in relation to the not so distant civil rights movement. The verse (“Did you want to see me broken?”) along with a later verse (“I am the dream and the hope of the slave.”) framed the irony of the period. As if to imply, isn’t it ironic that we have arose above what society demanded of the African American people from previous generations, but yet here we stand finally free and equal with the ability for our voices to be heard. The title of the poem and several repeated verses (“Still I Rise”) serves as a constant reminder to the reader of this

The powerful words of this poem ring as true in the current day as they did when initially published in 1978. Society has made great strides in the topics of inequality and equal opportunity; however, we still experience racial differences in social and political arenas.

After further review of my analysis of Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise”, my perception remains unchanged. Before this research, I had not been introduced to this particular poem and will reference it in the future. I felt I had a fairly good understanding of the poem and its message after my initial review of it. During my research, I did gain a greater respect and appreciation for this time period and its authors as well. This has inspired me to research more literature and poetry from the Post-Modern