Poem: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

THE POEM: 

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. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 Dr. Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She is an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and a civil rights activist. At the age of 14, she dropped out of San Francisco’s Labor School to become San Francisco’s first African-American female cable car conductor. Dr. Angelou received over 30 honorary degrees and is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:

Still I rise by Maya Angelou is a very inspirational poem and I suggest everyone should read this. This poem tells us that we have to lift up our heads and don’t mind the haters. People who are bullied especially needs to read this poem, it shows that you have to always lift your head up. Even if people push you to the ground, you rise. Don’t give in on their hurtful words that cuts like a knife or their hateful glares that shoots to you. Always remember that you rise up from all the people.

Don’t let them treat you like dirt. I could relate to this because some people always look down on me. Think that I’m just a mistake, that I am never good enough but I try my best to prove them wrong.  The text to the world I can make with this is that everyone in the world has a time in their life that they felt like giving up. Don’t give up, rise and give it all your best. The text to text I can make with this is a song called We Are Who We Are by Little Mix. They both deliver the same message that we will always be ourselves and rise up to people.

This is a truly motivating poem and I believe that everyone should read this at least once in their life so that they would remember this when they are troubled. They should like recite probably the last part of the poem are the part they think has the most meanings to them.

TP-CASTT

TITLE:

The title Still I Rise tells me that this poem is going to be about standing up against society. Like if you have been pushed to the ground a bunch of times you still stand up. If the world knocked you down, you rise up. I think that this poetry will be a very inspirational and a great motivator in life. 

PARAPHRASE:

My whole existence written down in history

While it is full of lies,

I may have been trod in very dirt

But like the dust, I’ll rise

Is my sassiness upsetting you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

Because I was like I own oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes that are high,

Still I’ll rise

Do you wish to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

My shoulders down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soul crying.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t take it awfully too hard

‘Cause I laugh like I have gold mines

Digging in my own back yard.

You may insult me with your words,

You may glare with your eyes,

You may hate me all you want,

But still, like air, I rise.

Is my sexiness upsetting you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

I’m from huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from the pain from a past

I rise

I’m the black ocean, leaping and wide,

I bear in the tide swelling and welling.

Leaving terror and fearful nights behind

I rise

Into the wondrously clear daybreak

I rise

Bringing gifts that my ancestors have given me,

I am the dream and the hope of slavery.

I rise

I rise

I rise

CONNOTATION (FORMAL ANALYSIS):
1. Structure: 4 Tercets, 6 Quatrains, 5 lines, and a couplet, Rhyme Scheme - ABCB , Meter - Irregular (Free verse) , Punctuation - Question mark, period, comma, and apostrophe.
2. Speaker: Standing up against slavery Audience: Hope and dreams of abolishing discrimination and slavery
3. Figurative language: Repetition (I rise) Metaphor ( I am the dream and the hope of slave)
4. Imagery: Sight (black ocean, bowed head, lowered eyes), Touch (diamonds), Smell (none), Hear (I laugh,  soulful cries), Taste (none)
5. Repetition: I rise

ATTITUDE:
Optimistic, encouraging, confident, inevitable, embattled, determine, arrogant, savvy, haughty

SHIFTS:

1^st Tercet (Lines 1-3) – They could treat her like dirt or make her look like a bad person.

2^nd Line (Line 4) – After through all those, she still rise up

3^rd Quatrain (Lines 5-8) – She ask you if you are jealous of her because she doesn’t care what you think of her

4^th Quatrain (Lines 9-12) – She will still rise like the moons and the suns with tides or hopes spring high

5^th Quatrain (Lines 13-15) – She asked if you want to see her depressed

6^th Quatrain (Lines 16-19) – She asked if you are offended by her haughtiness cause she’ll just laugh

7^th Tercet (Lines 20-22) – You may do anything with her through your hate

8^th Line (Line 23) – She will rise like air

9^th Quatrain (Lines 24-27) – She asked if she upset you with her sexiness because she dance like she doesn’t care

10^th Quatrain (Lines 28-31) – From pain or shame, she’ll still rise

11^th Tercet (Lines 32-34) – She’s like an ocean but she leaves behind the nights of terror and fear

12^th Line (Line 35) – She will rise

13^th Line (Line 36) – Into daybreak that is wondrously clear

14^th Line (Line 37) – She will rise

15^th Couplet (Lines 38-39) – She brings the hope of her ancestors against slavery

16^th Tercet (Lines 40-42) – She will rise

The Lines are mostly about her rising from the fall that she has taken. The couplet is about the hopes against slavery and the quatrains are about the hates from the people who discriminates against the skin colors. The shift is from the hate to her rising up against it. 

TITLE:
My opinion on the title the first time was partially correct as I see it but this poem was about discrimination. This was against slavery but it could also mean different things. It could be the poor that was being teased by the rich or the person who is bullied and doesn't have any friends. This poem isn't specifically for the dark skinned colored people, it could be everybody who's dealing with being pushed around by other people.


THEME:
There are five possible themes in this poem:
1. If you have fallen, always rise back up.
2. Never let anyone's words hurt you even if it's hard to.
3. Their opinions on you doesn't matter but your opinion on yourself does.
4. Always fight back with courage and pride.
5. Being a human being isn't based on the colors of their skins or the status of their wealth.



REFERENCES (APA-6)
Angelou, M. (1978). Still I Rise. Poem Hunter. Website. Retrieved from http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/