Still I Rise
Irene Lange
Intro to Humanities
Task 1

Still I Rise
Prior to beginning this assignment, I had never heard of the poem, “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou. I had only recently been introduced to her and her works after she passed away in 2014. It was then that I had seen what an impact this woman had in the lives of so many people. My first reaction to the poem was that it appeared that she was being defiant. Her questioning in several paragraphs, made it seem as if she is almost taunting the reader with her responses. There is the repeating theme of her “rising” throughout the poem. In the last paragraph she addresses “slaves” which suggests that the entire poem is about racism, sexism and black rights. To me, the poem seems to make it clear that she has risen above the racism and sexism of other people and what they may think of her past or her actions.
This poem was written in 1978, and while there were no “slaves” at this point in history, there remained many areas in the south that were segregated. The women of the Post Modern Era had to work hard to defend their rights. Angelou’s works became part of the Black Power Movement of the 1970s. She was a civil rights activist and worked with both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr to help improve the rights of the African American.
Maya Angelou was a remarkable woman. Into adulthood, Maya had held various job titles including “a cook, a waitress, a madam, a prostitute, a dancer, an actress, a playwright and a calypso singer.” (Grossman, 2014) It wasn’t until she was in her forties that she became an author and a poet. She is “best known for her six autobiographical volumes.”(Angelou, 2015) Maya had a troubled childhood and dealt with poverty, racism and sexual abuse. She was raped at a young age by a friend of her mothers. She eventually told her mother about the incident. Several of her male family members killed the man responsible. “When she hears the next day that Mr. Freeman is dead, she becomes convinced that her lie caused his death.” (Danahay, 1991) She remains silent for several years after the incident, until a school teacher helps her find her voice once again.
The major theme that is represented in this poem is multiculturalism. According to Mind Edge, Multiculturalism is “seen as the acceptance of different cultures or cultural identities within a community or society.” (MindEdge, Inc. 2014) This is represented by the phrase “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (Angelou, 1978) Maya Angelou was a black woman who had fought her way through many negative stereotypes of both her race and her gender.
Maya Angelou’s literary works continue to inspire and influence African culture. She was especially fond of music and worked with and influenced a variety of musicians, such as, Kayne West, Nicki Minaj, Common and Tupac. “Angelou believed that rap music was a portal for youth to discover poetry.” (Feeney, 2014) Her works continue to influence poets and authors. A poet named Crystal Valentine stated in an interview that Maya Angelou and other female poets have “created a space for my poems – the controversial poems of a woman of color – to exist.” (Empowering, 2015)
My views of this poem have changed significantly after doing the research into the life of Maya Angelou. The initial view I had of her being defiant was changed to that of a feeling of empowerment. Through her writings and the questioning statements, it is clear that she has risen above the stereotypes of gender and race. “She no longer feels inferior, knows who she is, and knows that she can respond to racism in ways that preserve her dignity and her life, liberty, and property.” (Walker, 1995) This poem opened my eyes to a culture that I had very little knowledge of. Her words “up from a past that’s rooted in pain - I rise” (Angelou, 1978) have a much deeper meaning to me, knowing that these words were most likely a reaction to the rape she endured as a child. I look forward to reading more of her writings on my own.
References
Angelou, M. (1978). Still I Rise. Retrieved from https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/still-i-rise
Danahay, M. A. (1991). Breaking the silence: symbolic violence and the teaching of contemporary “ethnic” autobiography. College Literature, 1864-79.
Empowering Young People Through The Beauty of Poetry. (2015). Crisis (15591573), 122(2), 31-33.
Feeney, N. (2014). A Brief History of How Maya Angelou Influenced Hip Hop. Time.Com, 1.
Grossman, L. (2014, June 9). Maya Angelou. Time. p. 16.
Maya Angelou. (2015). Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1
MindEdge, Inc. (2014). Introduction to the humanities. Waltham, MA: MindEdge, Inc
Walker, P. A. (1995). Racial protest, identity, words, and form in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. College Literature, 22(3), 91.