Still I Rise By Maya Angelou

(creative writing assignment: Poetry Critique)

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
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.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

(http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/poems/482)

I chose this poem because not only has it been my favorite poem since 6th grade, but I can personally relate to it. Angelous writes about the hurdles she had to overcome in her life and that afterwards, she rose "into a daybreak that's wondrously clear." The poet's word choice is very careful; in the beginning of the poem, she writes, "I'll Rise," but as the poem progresses, and she seems to be surmounting her perbolems, she writes, "I Rise." Just that slight alteration offers so much nuance to the poem. The title itself is, "Still I Rise," is very appropriate because it summarizes the entire poem: no matter how horrible the challenge, she'll overcome them. Through the use of metaphor in the following excerpt, she creates an image of herself as a powerful, and undefeatable ocean:

"I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide."

This metaphor develops the poet's contempt of failing in her challenges and illustrates that she has a strong will. Angelou also uses repition of "I'll Rise" and "I Rise" to first prompt the feeling of hope in the beginning of the poem, and then later, to prompt the feeling of triumph and confidence.

~H