Research Paper On Maya Angelou

Ifeoluwa Tokunbo
Mr. Lemanski
HLA 9
20 March 2017
Angelou, Maya
Maya Angelou. She was thought of as a black woman's laureate, and her poems have been called the anthems of African Americans. Angelou was active in the civil rights movement, and worked with many like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Her poems follow classic style in non poetic western forms and have also paved the way for other black writers to be seen as individuals not representatives of their race. Maya Angelou’s use of Hyperboles, writing about freedom and liberty/independence and symbolism in her poems, “Phenomenal woman,” “I know why the caged bird sings,” and “Still I rise,” are the characteristics of her style of empowerment, and way of words making you think and

Angelou). She uses hyperboles in the poem to exaggerate the fact that she can’t be shaken or shown down, and what she really thinks of the situation. This quote shows that Maya Angelou has a lot of confidence in her speaking and she won’t let people’s thoughts get to her. Additionally, in “I Know Why the Caged Bird,” Angelou states “ But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams/ His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/ His wings are clipped and his feet are tied/So he opens his throat to sing./ The caged bird sings with/A fearful trill of things unknown/ But longed for still and his/ Tune is heard on the distant hill/ For the caged bird sings of freedom.” (2. Angelou). In this example, Angelou uses hyperboles, exaggerating the bird singing loudly in scary places, trying to reach for freedom. This example shows in her that she is the bird trying to get out of her scary

As an example, in “Phenomenal Woman,” Angelou writes about freedom and liberty/independence when she says “I walk into a room Just as cool as you please,/ And to a man,/The fellows stand or/ Fall down on their knees./ Then they swarm around me,/ A hive of honey bees./ I say,/ It’s the fire in my eyes,/ And the flash of my teeth,/ The swing in my waist,/ And the joy in my feet/ I’m a woman/ Phenomenally./ Phenomenal Woman,/ That’s me.” (1. Angelou). In this quote from her poem she talks about independence when she exaggerates what she is doing in a fierce way. This shows how much self-esteem she has, that the way of others won’t sway her in any way, and that she can make her own way. In addition, The poem “I know why the caged bird sings,” Angelou tells us “ The caged bird sings with a fearful trill/ Of things unknown but longed for still/ And his tune is heard on the distant hill for/ The caged bird sings of freedom.” (2. Angelou). Maya Angelou writes about freedom in this selection when she tells about the caged bird singing/ longing for freedom when it’s on the opposite side of happiness and peace. This poem is about Maya Angelou’s early life, and this example tells us that Angelou thought of herself as a caged bird, trapped in misery, always trying to get to the side of tranquility, and liberty. Also, in “Still I rise”, Maya