Overcoming Oppression

“Still I Rise” By Maya Angelou

The poem “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou is about…

Overcoming oppression and rising from having nothing to being one of the most powerful people alive. “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 rise.” This poem also shows her belief in herself. 

I think Maya Angelou wrote this poem to show that even if you are born in the lowest of the low you can rise over all the people who mistreated you. 

In the final stanza, Angelou repeats “I rise” five times. The effect of this repetition is…

She wants to leave a mark in the reader’s brain so they can really understand what they have just read. She also wants to let the readers know, they can try to put her down but every time they do so she will just rise higher and higher. 

“I’m a black ocean, leaping in wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. 

This metaphor tells us she is as strong as an ocean and no one can stop her. Because you can move a river or you can move a lake but you cannot move an ocean because they are unstoppable. 

“Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells pumping in my living room”

In this metaphor, she is saying she walks likes she is a rich woman. Because oil wells can make you lots and lots of money. She is also saying she walks with pride and confidence, even though she is always facing obstacles and is always overcoming them. 

“You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.”

This metaphor is significant because Maya Angelou is saying, even when you put her down and drag her through the mud she will always rise higher and higher just like dust.