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 back yard.
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 Angelou and "Still I Rise"
Still I Rise is a powerful, empowering poem all about the struggle to overcome prejudice and
injustice. It is one of Maya Angelou's most popular poems.

When read by those who understand the meaning of repeated wrongdoing, the poem becomes a
kind of anthem, a beacon of hope for the oppressed and downtrodden.

It is a reminder of the abuse of power by those who sit in government, the judiciary, in the military
and in the police force. For members of the public, for society, it sends out the clear, repeated
message of hope. No matter the circumstances, there must always be hope to cling on to.

Still I Rise - Teaching and Learning

Students respond to poems in many different and exciting ways. This poem will inspire
and spark off many a debate on such themes as:

Politics

History

Trade

Oppression

Societal Issues

Individual Rights

Slavery

Peaceful Protest

Analysis of "Still I Rise"

This stirring poem is packed full of figurative language and when read through comes over as a sort
of secular hymn to the oppressed and abused. The message is loud and clear - no matter the
cruelty, regardless of method and circumstance, the victim will rise up, the slave will overcome
adversity.
Little wonder that Nelson Mandela read this poem at his inauguration in 1994, having spent 27 years
in prison.
Although written with the black slavery and civil rights issues in mind, Still I Rise is universal in its
appeal. Any innocent individual, any minority, any nation subject to oppression or abuse could
understand the underlying theme - don't give in to torture, bullying, humiliation and injustice.

 There are 43 lines in total made up of 7 quatrains and 2 end stanzas which help reinforce the
theme of individual hope, 'I Rise' being repeated in mantra fashion.
 This is a poem aimed at the oppressor. Note the first 'You' in the first line and the rhyme
scheme abcb, which tightly knits the stanza together. It's worth going through the rhyme's
 effect because the full rhymes such as eyes/cries, hard/backyard, surprise/thighs continue up
to the last two stanzas when the scheme changes from abcb to abcc and aabb, giving an
absolute solid ending to the piece.
If this poem were a sculpture it would have a granite plinth to stand on. And the natural imagery is
far reaching and the voice loud. There are moons and suns, tides and black ocean; there's clear
daybreak and ancestral gifts, all joining together in a crescendo of hope.

 Similes and metaphor abound. Every stanza has at least one, from the first ...'But
still, like dust, I'll rise.' to the last...'I am the dream and the hope of the slave.'
There's a defiance in the poem as you read through, as if the speaker is trying to prick the
conscience of the oppressor, by reminding them of past wrongs and present realities. The
word sassiness suggests an arrogant self-confidence, backed up by the use
of haughtiness, and sexiness. The poet's use of hyperbole with these three nouns adds a kind of
absurd beauty.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as some surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

 Stanza 6 brings the oppressive issue to a climax so to speak. Three lines begin with 'You', the
speaker choosing particularly active verbs - shoot, cut, kill - to emphasise the aggression. But
all to no avail for the oppressed will still rise, this time like air, an element which you cannot
shoot, cut or kill.
All in all, an inspirational poem with powerful repetitive energy, a universal message and a clear,
positive pulse throughout.

Sources
Teaching Tolerance, www.tolerance.org.

Maya Angelou, www.thestoryweb.com.

© 2016 Andrew Spacey