ipl-logo

Still I Rise Mary Oliver Analysis

1697 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: I rise by maya angelou analysis

In both, “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver’s “The Journey”, the speaker utilizes a different style of diction and figurative language in order to appeal to their different audiences regarding two similar yet different subjects. Both poems ultimately suggests one to fight against matters that are deemed oppressive in order to move towards a brighter future although their purpose is depicted differently. This message is effectively delivered through the use of different methods of tone: Angelou utilizes a sarcastic and defiant tone, whereas Oliver settles on a more troubled and assured tone. In Maya Angelou’s poem, Angelou has no problem criticizing society for its discrimination between race and gender and promptly lays out a suggestion …show more content…

The poem does just that. It shows a speaker going through the stages of evolution where line 1-11 is the gloomy stage of life and line 12-22 is when the speaker decides to walk away and find his/her own voice and line 23- 36 shows the speaker finally finding the voice he/she longed forever. Both the “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou and “The Journey” by Mary Oliver has the same sense of meaning where both authors urge the audience to rise against the ‘oppressors’ and work towards a brighter future. However, “Still I rise” is intended for the advocates of gender equality and racial equality to revolt against the discrimination that is seeping through the 20th century society. On the other hand, “The Journey” is intended for an individual to walk away from society’s overwhelming pressure and find his/her own voice that gives a chance for the individual to realize who he/she truly is. This can be seen through the extreme difference in tone. Angelou pushes on more daring tone riddled with sarcastic and bold remarks. This allows Angelou to freely belittle her oppressors while giving her advocates a laugh. Although risky, her boldness works out. The daring tone transfers her message clearly whilst giving her the power of

Show More
Related
740 Words | 3 Pages

The hardships that she faced during her lifetime and eventually overcame were done with a positive grace which became an inspiration to people around the world. Through her written words and inspirational speeches she was able to lead people in a positive directions . She moved forward as a beacon that showed love and wisdom. Angelou wanted to teach her audience truth about the hardships in life but also show them that there was great value in seeing the joy that life can bring and that there is a need to appreciate those who surround

Read More
795 Words | 4 Pages

When she says “I would like to claim an immediate fury followed by the noble determination to break the restricting traditions” (Angelou, 143). This shows that Angelou has determination to change the traditions and break the barrier between her race and

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

“Today, Michelle and I join millions around the world in remembering one of the brightest lights of our time – a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.” (Online - White House). This memorial statement, by Barack Obama in 2014, encompasses how many felt towards Maya Angelou, one of the most influential writers and voices of her generation. Over the course of her lifetime, Maya Angelou was awarded over 50 honorary degrees and received the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Angelou’s personal admiration and self-love that is reflected in her poetic works, specifically, “Phenomenal Woman,” is credited to the overcoming of her traumatic childhood and her work in activism.

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

Never hesitant to speak her mind, Angelou passionately defended the rights of women, young people and the

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

The Performers and the Observers London, 1947 Oliver knocked on the door for the third time. An old friend had invited him over. Oliver didn’t ask for a reason; he didn’t need one. He had known this man for decades.

Read More
628 Words | 3 Pages

Let us say someone encountered a bump in life or something bad happened people will always move past it eventually because people cannot let something weigh them down for the rest of their lives. The big message or idea of these two poems is to keep moving on because people will always have to deal with problems. In “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes and Still I Rise by Maya Angelou they both convey the message that people should never give up and keep on rising no matter what happens or what people say. Throughout the poem “Mother to Son,” Langston Hughes coveys that people should always keep pushing towards their goals and not give up.

Read More
3654 Words | 15 Pages

This topic was chosen out of the interest in the arts and specifically the arts within America. I aim to explore how art evolved and affected the Civil Rights Movement and changed the attitude of racist and unjust people who lived during the 1960s. The evolution of art throughout the 1960s in America introduced new styles of art into the world and had large political relevance in accordance to the Civil Rights Movement and unjust gender discrimination. The American arts industry is one of the most widely recognized and most successful industries to date and much of its success is owed to the Civil Rights Movement that occurred during the 1960s. During this period of time, African Americans were extremely disadvantaged and oppressed.

Read More
458 Words | 2 Pages

Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou were African Americans alive during the period in American history when minority groups were fighting hard for their rights and respect among the country. These two authors used their writing skill to shed light on how African Americans felt throughout this period of time, opening many people’s eyes to how the oppressed truly felt. The civil rights movement could have had an entirely different outcome if it weren’t outspoken individuals such as these two. In Hughes’s well known poem “I, Too,” Hughes talks about how the people that mistreat him will soon regret everything they’ve done and will realize the true potential of him and everyone like him.

Read More
715 Words | 3 Pages

Context/Purpose/Audience Still I Rise, written in 1978 by African American poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou, is a resoundingly courageous and unearthing poem with an inspiring invited reading directly related to the time period it was written in: during the declaration for Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The poem discusses an African American woman’s struggles against racism and hatred from the society. It consists of nine-stanzas, offering words of inspiration to those who have been oppressed. It sends a message of hope that even in the midst of adversity it is possible to overcome obstacles and find the inner strength and confidence to rise above them. This poem is very straightforward making the message more meaningful and affective.

Read More
514 Words | 3 Pages

Maya Angelou wrote the poem “Still, I rise.” These two poems both have their own meaning but are still similar in many ways. To begin, Hughes poem was about how African Americans were looked at as differently. The poem was about how blacks were segregated from whites. They were treated different and not looked at as human beings.

Read More
1287 Words | 6 Pages

The way Maya Angelou wrote the poem it makes it very easy to see the imagery in each stanza. Angelou says "it 's the fire in my eyes, and the flash of my teeth, the swing in my waist, and the joy in my feet"(22-25). In this quote, you can picture women walking into a room with her head held high and being proud of whom she is, in the way that Maya describes her self. The reader is able to picture Angelous inner strength because of how she words everything. "I don 't shout or jump about, Or have to talk real loud when you see me passing, it ought to make you proud"(48-51).

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

Undoubtedly, having paramount courage and undying love for the human race are the two virtues that anyone aspiring to live a life of purpose must have. In the Wikipedia article "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings," Angelou sheds light on the life she led as a child. She highlights the difficulties she had to go through when an opportunity for change was close to impossible (Wikipedia n.p.). Nevertheless, as a courageous young woman who discovered her passion for writing early, she used words to express herself, which later led to her success.

Read More
1570 Words | 7 Pages

In the case of the books “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, it is obvious that, apart from entertainment, there is at least one more purpose of writing. Both Achebe 's and Angelou 's work, have in common the fact, that they have been written in order to relate information to the readers. “Things Fall Apart” serves the purpose of writing an alternative history and making the Igbo culture known, while “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” serves the purpose of raising awareness and educating its readers about the racial segregation in the United States, during the great depression, as well as providing them with the reason as to why Maya decided to become a writer. Angelou, however writes her story, not only for the sake of her readers, but also for herself, because it is a way of self-healing and relief.

Read More
1362 Words | 6 Pages

‘Still I Rise’ by the American, Maya Angelou presents the character of a black woman who is oppressed in the 1970s but refuses to accept this. ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen, however, is concerned with a character who is ‘broken’ after the disabilities he suffers in the First World War at the beginning of the twentieth century. The poem ‘Still I Rise’ is about a woman who discloses that she will overcome anything due to her self-confidence. The line ‘But still, like dust, I’ll rise’ is a metaphor that expresses that she will not be downtrodden by others.

Read More
988 Words | 4 Pages

The tone is angry but yet determined, whereas the surroundings will not cause defeat. There is hope, hope for a better place but also hope for a better future. One that looks past race, but expresses freedom. The freedom to not judge one by color but embrace one another, live with in equality. Angelou describes the denial of basic freedom, actually being held down because of the shade of one’s

Read More

More about Still I Rise Mary Oliver Analysis

Open Document