The Speaker of the Poem
Maya Angelou’s writings frequently dealt with what it was like to be a black woman in America. When read in this light, “Still I Rise” becomes more than a call to perseverance in the face of adversity: it becomes a modern-day homage to the power and beauty of blackness. Although the speaker’s racist culture believes that black people’s lives and bodies are less valuable than others, she opposes this notion passionately. The speaker emphasizes her complete humanity while simultaneously associating her body with valuable symbols like “oil wells,” “gold mines,” and “diamonds” (Angelou 2, 5, 7). These parallels subtly criticize racist and sexist conceptions that beauty and power are only associated with whiteness and masculinity. Instead, the poem transforms into a celebration of black women. The poem indicates that in a racist world, civilization continues to deny black people their entire humanity. The speaker should be “broken,” “cut,” or perhaps “kill[ed]” (Angelou 4, 6), according to society. Rather than recognizing black people’s lives and humanity, society deliberately damages and destroys them. Slavery was, of course, the ultimate dehumanization in society’s shameful past.
Exaltation of African American Slave Heritage
Maya Angelou, an American civil rights activist, and writer, wrote the poem “Still I Rise.” The poem appeared in Angelou’s third poetry book, And Still I Rise, in 1978 and is one of her most well-known pieces. In general, the poem is an affirmation of oppressed people’s dignity and tenacity in the face of persecution. “Still I Rise” may also be understood as a critique of anti-black racism because Angelou frequently wrote about blackness and black femininity. Thus, I agree that this poem serves as a reflection of the history of slavery and, from a certain point of view, its criticism.
Work Cited
Angelou, Maya. “Still I Rise.” Poetry Foundation, Penguin Random House, 1994, Web.