Still I Rise

     "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou is a humbling and inspirational poem about overcoming what life throws at you. Throughout the poem, the stanzas switch from being about the issues the speaker faces and, how the speaker overcame it. Because of how Maya Angelou describes what the speaker faces and what it is that he or she is facing, I think the poem is about her.

      I think that, "Still I Rise" is a humbling poem because of what she compares herself to when rising. For example she says, "Like air, I'll rise," and, "Like dust, I'll rise." Saying that you are rising can often be something that shows a lot and, maybe even too much power. But by comparing herself to something that everyone knows, her power becomes relatable. It was also a wise word choice because, by comparing herself to dust or air which are everyday things, her power becomes something that everyone can have a bit of. 

     "Still I Rise" is also an inspirational poem. When Maya Angelou keeps saying how she rises and what she has rose over it gives people faith to rise too. While she was being shoot down with words, cut with eyes and, killed with hatefulness, she still rose. With this being said it shows that she was resilient to the thing inflicting power. By standing up with what she faced especially during the time period that the poem was published in, 1978 it gave faith. If Maya Angelou an African-American poet could overcome racial adversities and what not, so can everyone else. And that is what I think her metaphor, "I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear the tide." represents. 

     I enjoyed "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou. When reading it as a person, I was inspired to rise and was given strength by Maya Angelou's ability to rise. When analyzing it as a deep thinker I noticed the specific word choice, power vs. resistance and other artistic choices. I think that anyone can take something away from this poem, whether it be hope or new writing skills, and that is an accomplishment as a writer. 

-Aleyna Ndaw