Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Still I Rise

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 backyard.

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.

-Maya Angelo

And Still I Rise is one of Maya Angelou’s most widely known poems and personally, it has become one of my favourites. Angelou’s “sassy”, “haughty” and defiant oppressor gives a new dimension to the projection of images related to the oppressed. The confidence with which the speaker addresses the concerns and consequences of oppression is commendable. Rhetorical questions such as “Does my sassiness upset you?” “Does my haughtiness offend you?” show how the speaker is not afraid to speak her mind and assert her individuality. She is not the kind who will accept her fate as that which is sealed by her masters. There is no sense of inferiority that the speaker feels while directly posing questions to those who have oppressed her. The use of metaphors such as “I've got oil wells” used to mock the wealthy show the extent to which the wealthy people dominated the less privileged and used their economic assets to exploit them.

Referring to herself as the “hope of the slave”, the speaker brings into light the history of oppression the African Americans have been through. It is in a sense a tribute to the African Americans for all that they have been through, discrimination in all aspects of their life, slavery, racism and segregation. The concerns related to women are also boldly expressed by using stark lines like “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?” There is a sense of indomitable spirit where the oppressed herself has become the crusader for the oppressed. The history of oppression in America spirals to approximately three decades. The impact of this discrimination and exploitation that generations of families went through is inhumane and traumatic. The mental, psychological, physical and social repercussions of such kind of irrational discrimination are unimaginable. Writings like “Still I rise” are relief to the souls of the families who went through the discrimination and is not just a means of let out but also inspiration among all those who have had similar unpleasant experiences in their lives.

The main theme of this poem centres on hope, how one can overcome all difficulties in life by just standing up and facing the problems with unwavering strength and courage. It is a poem where Maya Angelou not only addresses the African Americans and women but all sections of society that are oppressed in any which way. There is a personal touch to the poem, since Angelou herself has faced so many hardships in her life and the tone of the poem is not passive in the remotest sense. Through the poem we see how Angelou while talking about the hardships she faced in the past asserts herself as a strong African American woman in the present. The repetition of the words “I rise” are of significance as they come after she addresses the oppressors, reminding them that inspite of all that she has been through she still made it to a platform where she can give voice to hundreds of those who were oppressed. The poem is extremely inspirational and empowering. It is a poem that is written like a Victory Song. It is motivating and reminds us that if we respect ourselves then the world will have no control over whom or what we are.

There is beauty in the emotion of the poem that is awe-inspiring and every time you read it, you will take a moment and it will leave a smile on your face.