Name: Lily Ashe
Class: 10GL
Text Type: Poem Review
Title: Still I Rise
Author: Maya Anglou
Question: Describe how techniques have been used in the text.
Explain how these techniques have been used to create a particular effect.
“Techniques” could include characteristics, dialogue, narrative point-of-view, language techniques, style or structure.
In the poem “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou has used techniques to illustrate that future generations should not have to suffer through the pain she has faced. She is giving them inspiration to rise above and beyond to create a world that is a better place, with antiracism. Maya Angelou is giving hope to the future by using poetic comparison and historic reference as techniques to create the particular effect of pain and how the world as a collective can rise and make a change.
Maya Anglelou has used poetic comparison to state that the future generations should not have to suffer through the pain she has faced. She is telling us we are able to persevere and rise. This is done by giving courage and hope to the society by using similes and metaphors. Maya Angleou supports this through relating the situation back to her strong self. An example of this is the stanza
“Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines”
Maya Angelou is stating how rich she is by using the term goldmines. The effect of this is that she does not literally own goldmines however is still rich from earning money working hard like gold miners. This is significant as African-Americans were typically not able to make as much money as whites in previous times, so therefore is saying it is possible for others like her to rise and accomplish goals they set for themselves. She has also used the idea of goldmines as you have to search for gold when mining which creates a connection to the society and her impact she wanted to create. The connection is that Maya Angelou is searching for the bright shiny gold in which in factual context is the potential success of antiracism and better lives for those experiencing similar events as she has. It is also significant as she is willing to accomplish her goals which gave her the idea to rise and become a better person and change the world. The stanza
“Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells”
is also used to state how rich Maya Angleou is. As if you work in a business for oil wells or create them you earn a ridiculous amount of money. In addition she has used the example of oil wells as they are designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface, which relates to her as she wants to rise above the surface and do great for those on Earth.
Throughout the poem “Still I Rise” techniques are used effectively to show the power and confidence Maya Angelou has. This is shown through poetic comparison and how Maya Anglelou’s power has impacted on America as well as the world as a whole.
An example from the poem is,
“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”
which are metaphors because you are not physically able to shoot someone with words, cut people with eyes or kill people with hatefulness. Maya Angelou has used these to create the effect that she is unstoppable as she is able to take on anything coming directly at her. She has used the harshness of the shoot, cut, kill metaphors to emphasise the use of the three direct addresses of ‘you’ as well as the repetition which creates an effect of aggression towards the readers. The last line of this stanza “But still like air, I’ll rise” is used to state the lightness of ‘air’ and the ease which contrasts with the ferocity in the previous lines. Maya Angleou is also informing the readers that they are able to rise too as the air is accessible to everyone. Another example of her expressing her power to the reader is in the stanza
“I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.”
Maya Angelou is backing herself by saying how powerful she is and telling the society they cannot move or tell me what to do. She has been straightforward by using ‘is’ instead of ‘like’ which creates the effect of her certainty. She has associated herself with an ocean as they are powerful and precise which is what Angelou is aiming to achieve.
Maya Angelou has related her poem to the world we live in as she is giving hope to the future so the society becomes a better place than what she had to live. She is encouraging the society to follow her and to make changes so they are able to accomplish their goals.
Historical reference is used to state that the future generations should not have to suffer through the pain she has had to face. Using the techniques historical reference, Maya Angelou has referred back to her personal past by stating significant events that have affected her life. An example of this is
“Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise.”
Maya Angelou has used the term ‘huts’ to describe the slave quarters that enslaved African American people were forced to live in during the America Slavery time period. These huts they were forced to live in were usually small, dark, damp, and poorly constructed with only one room. Maya Angleou has used this line to express that the slaves lived in unpleasant places throughout the harmful circumstances they had to face throughout history. She has used “I rise” in the middle of each referencial line to explain that her past does not change the way she will act in the future. The repetition of ‘I rise’ creates a focus point that is an effect of aggressions and determination. Another example of her history as a slave is the stanza,
“Leaving behind nights of terror and fear”
This is used to describe the sexual abuse she has had to face as well as how sad she was becasue of what she and other slaves were being forced to do. The final stanza is also an example that is used to describe both her hope and historic events to conclude the poem.
“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave”
This stanza describes Angelou bringing the strength of her ancestors to fight through what they had to face and deal with throughout their lives. She is saying that she is the dream as she has overcome and faced what she has been through and is sending hope that the slavery will stop and become a positive society where everyone is accepted equally.
Relating back to the world we live in, Maya Angelou has made many personal connections by using historical reference. She has created a relationship between her past and today’s modern day. The relationship between the poem and our society is the topic of the Black Lives Matter movement. Living in today’s society many people are still experiencing racism. Through the last couple of months racism has been taken to the extent of death. A recent event of this is the shooting of Jacob Blake, who was getting in a car with his children in the back. He did not obey officers commands so was shot multiple times. Every week an event like this occurs which is why Maya has written this poem telling the world to follow her and be strong to change the way people are treating African Americans.
In the poem “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou has used techniques that have created an effect of the pain she has suffered through and the hope that the future will not have to do the same. The techniques used to create the effect are poetic comparison and historical reference. She is wanting the world to change and rise above the flaws of the past and move forward to create a dream future.
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