“Africa”
Maya Angelou’s poem “Africa” utilizes a metaphor of a woman who suffers viewing her children being enslaved to show an outrage happening in Africa. In fact, the first stanza gives a visual description of the continent’s beauty, drawing the analogy with the woman’s body. Specifically, the poet uses landmarks such as deserts, mountains, and the Nile River to describe the vastness of this continent. However, the verbs used in the first stanza seem to display Africa’s passivity and lack of power to do anything when her daughters are raped and sons are sold.
In this poem, Angelou showed how the people of Africa felt when the white came to conquer their lands and kidnap them to slavery. Indeed, the phrase “had lain” depicts Africa’s inability to do anything against white oppressors. Furthermore, the expression “is rising” shows that black people’s self-awareness rose after a century of hardship and silence. It appears that the author hopes that new beginnings and opportunities will come for Africans after their lands are freed.
“Still I Rise”
In Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” black people’s oppressor seems to be addressed as “you.” The poet uses a consistent tone full of pride for her race and ethnic identity to tell the target audience that Africans will continue to rise regardless of white people’s disrespectful attitudes and actions. In fact, the questions determine this poem’s tone and serve as an accusatory tool to confront the oppressors. Indeed, Angelou does not feel shame for black people being confident and arrogant in speech, dance, and laughing.
The last two stanzas claim the beginning of a new era for black people when they leave all the shame of inaction in the past and rise. The poet’s self-respecting and non-hostile tone remained the same throughout the poem. Moreover, the author strongly supported her position and claimed that she would not change her stand. Overall, Angelou’s “Still I Rise” seems to be a meditation for developing national pride and consciousness among black people after the civil rights movement began.