Still I Rise
Maya Angelou, 1928 – 2014
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 backyard.

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.

Still I Rise – Analysis

The poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou gives a message of triumph, and surpassing the oppression of African Americans.

The first photo shows a dusty book, which symbolizes “Writing down in history”, and the dust represents the dust in which Maya will rise from. I think this photo best represents the message of rising from the ashes and dust of history.  The second photo represents the stanza that shows how powerful the narrator is, and how she has all the confidence she needs. The photo accurately shows this because the rose is a little bent, yet it still grows with as much strength and beauty as any other rose would. Photo three depicts the sunrise over an ocean, and the tide, which is branching from literacy, because the stanza talks about the moon, sun and tides all still rising. As shown in the next photo, there is a literal meaning to it where the person has a “bowed head and lowered eyes,” and how this photo shows that this is what the oppressors want to see, but the author does not show it. The child laughing in the next photo represents the line where she states, “I laugh like I’ve got gold mines diggin’ in my own backyard.” The boy quite literally is laughing with confidence and humor, which is accurate to the stanza, picture, and the poem. This next photo where a man is standing on top of a mountain during sunrise, shows how the man has risen to the top of the mountain into the fresh air, and Maya also states that even though people may “ shoot me with your words and cut me with your eyes,” saying that people will bring you down and defeat you in your life, but still “like air I’ll rise”. The mountain symbolizes the journey of fighting those who will put you down, and the man represents the achievement of winning and rising like air. The next stanza says, “I dance like I’ve got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs.” Which is represented literally in the photo of a few askew diamonds thrown about, but they also have a “sexy” glimmer to them. The diamonds represent beauty and “sexiness”, which is talked about in this stanza. “Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise.” This line is represented by the sunrise in the background, where even though history has oppression in the past, there will always be a triumph and a rise from the hardships. The birds in the background symbolize the “past rooted in pain,” because they show how one can fly free from their past, and leave it behind them. The lady represents “the black ocean, leaping and wide,” which is a literal reference to the ocean scene behind her. The second to last photo shows Maya Angelou herself standing on the beach with her arms open wide, symbolizing how she is “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear,” leading “Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear,”. This is quite a figurative comparison, because her arms open wide show the breaking free, yet her standing by an ocean represents how she will always come back to what gives her the most confidence; the ocean, which is mentioned many times in this poem. The last photo is a literal symbol, in which the chains represent the broken shackles of her ancestors, and the other slaves, and how them being broken shows the “dreams and hopes of the slaves” being freed into the world for all to hear.

This whole poem is filled with symbolism and poetic devices, which carry great meaning to them, and enhance the poem. “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, is about carrying yourself onward from a tragedy, and your past. It addresses a historical phenomenon; the slavery and oppression of African Americans in the past, which still is somewhat relevant to today’s society, but she didn’t know this when she wrote the poem. The speaker of the poem is Maya herself, because she uses first person view speaking to the public, and it is aimed to society. She places herself in a triumphant and proud place of mind in the poem, but there is no physical setting. The denotation of the words in the poem are for the most part simple, but the connotation that they have, gives a triumphant feeling. For example, the repetition of the word “rise” gives a feeling of confidence and power. The words themselves have an abstract form to them, and the diction of the poem is very helpful in that they add a sense of pride, power, and confidence to the mood. There are also no visible clichés which helps give a sense of originality and creativity to the poem. The tone of the poem is resilient and confident, because she talks constantly about how she will rise from the dust and hardships, and there is a consistent tone throughout the poem. The rhyme pattern of the poem is A B C B, like “history, lies, dirt, rise”. The length of the lines on average is about 7 words, and the length of the stanzas are about 4-5 words each, which gives a sense of flow to each stanza, and gets the message across using end rhyme. The form of the poem is closed, because it has set stanzas and rhyme schemes. Some poetic device are as follows; Repetition: Still I Rise, this emphasizes the hope she has for her and other African Americans. The rhyme: lies, rise, gloom, room, eyes, cries, hard, yard. These give a little more insight to the tone based on the diction. There is symbolism: “oil wells” are very expensive and hard to find, so this symbolizes how she is luxurious and unique because of her skin tone, and “rising dust” symbolizes how she rises from her ancestors and her own oppression, and how the dust may be settled on the ground for a while, but once it is stirred up, it will rise into the air. Metaphor: “I am a black ocean” means that the word black is chosen to say this poem is about racism, and the ocean is a deep and wondrous place, which gives her a sense of wonder. There is also a rhetorical question that is supposed to catch the reader off guard, “does my sassiness upset you?”, brings some humor and defiance to the poem. There is also a simile in the poem too, “like moons and suns,” is comparing herself to the beauty and consistency of the planet. The last noticeable device is a hyperbole where she says, “You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness” the choice of these violent words depicts how she feels and the message of hatred she has for the oppressors. The title works very well with the poem, but I would have chosen just the word “Rise”, because there is so much repetition of the word on its own, but the original title works extremely well with the message and tone of the poem. This poem has a great sense of accomplishment and self-assurance, and this is brought to light very nicely in the poem.