Maya Angelou Still I Rise

Poems are known for digging deep into the reader’s emotions. They share a message in a way that a short story would be unable to tell. The unique ways poets create images to share that particular message is astonishing. Maya Angelou is nothing short of that. Angelou wrote the poem “Still I Rise” to stand up for herself against cultural bias of the time period. This poem was written in 1978 in the midst of segregation. Being an African American in this time period, Maya Angelou is doing her part in getting her voice out there to hopefully make a difference. "Still I Rise" is a poem that addresses the plight of American blacks, but has a message that can cross racial and cultural boundaries because it is about overcoming adversity.” (Bouchard,

Maya Angelou is using this as a reminder for the reader that there is not a single word that could be said to bring her down. “You may cut me with your eyes” (Angelou 22). The looks that she received from people on a daily basis, hurt but were not enough to bring her down. “You may kill me with your hatefulness, / But still, like air, I’ll rise.”(Angelou 23-24). The African Americans were treated with much hatred and had many chances to fight back. Unlike those who were against them wanted, they rose up gently like air. They did not fight back with violence like everyone was hoping they

Being talked about in a bad way in the future was not something that was going to keep her from trying to make a difference. “Up from a past that’s rooted in pain / I rise” (Angelou 31-32). The pain that African Americans faced is what made them who they are today. Their past caused them much pain, but not enough pain to keep them from rising again. “I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.” (Angelou 33-34). The I Angelou is referring to is the culture’s size and strength that all possess. The welling and swelling can be related to the experiences that caused them much pain. “Our pathetic whine of not being understood pales in comparison to the struggles of centuries she portrays, as it should.” (Dickinson, 5).The problems faced are not just some little hiccup, they are a larger than they are being treated. They are not going to just sit still; her and her people will constantly move to make a difference for themselves, similar to the way the ocean is always moving. “A new image of the black woman is on the rise, and it is coming in with the new tide. It is certain, it is inevitable, it will wash away the past.” (Overview, 10). “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, / I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (Angelou 39-40). Maya