Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou

With the poem, Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou, she describes the basic

feelings and descriptions of a person that does not need loathing or

people to try and lift her up. She shows us that she and all those

oppressed in general are strong.

We are shown some of the thoughts and feelings people have displayed

against her, but the reality is she won't let them get her down. Her

moral opulence allows her to rise above where her ancestors fell to

slavery, carrying herself as a strong woman. Her ancestors' dream was

to have a life in society without fear of what might happen (to them).

The author is portrayed as this dream - this gift - her ancestors

imagined.

Still I Rise is a sublime, straightforward poem that acknowledges that

we need not depend upon anyone else's opinion but our own. Maya

expresses not only her good qualities, but also her unfavourable ones,

yet even these are turned into positive ideas. This poem can only be

read by us now because she has confidence in herself, her writing, and

can express it so freely.

I believe this poem can be interpreted as a call to assertiveness and

pride for coloured people. It is an outcry to the humiliation,

prejudice, and constant drubbing this group was subjected to.

Parallels can be seen between (black) slavery, drug addicts, racism

and other groups that face constant thrashing by oppressors. Still I

Rise has the uncanny ability to incite these groups to rise, and stop

pining in sorrow while another tries to burry their soul.

Literary devices such as similes frequent this poem, such as Maya

rising like dust or " Just like moons and like suns, With the

certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high " we are confirmed

of the beauty and assurance of hope she has. Especially imaginative

was the comparison of " shoulders falling down like teardrops",