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“On Aging” Introduction
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Maya Angelou's "On Aging" calls on younger people to treat their seniors with understanding and respect. Published in the collection And Still I Rise in 1978, the year the poet turned 50, "On Aging" strikes back against stereotypes of older people as lonely, pitiable, and helpless. It corrects these assumptions with blunt humor, expressing the speaker's independence and vitality.
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“On Aging” Summary
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The elderly speaker cautions younger readers that, if they see the speaker sitting around quietly like an abandoned sack, they shouldn't assume that the speaker wants company. The speaker is actually just spending time with their own thoughts. The speaker doesn't want condescending sympathy or pity from younger people: they'll take some sincere understanding, if it's available, but otherwise they don't need anything.
Even when the speaker's body gets too stiff and achy to climb stairs, they only want one favor from younger people: whatever younger folks do, they shouldn't bring the speaker a rocking chair to sit down in.
When younger people see the speaker walking with difficulty, they shouldn't misinterpret what they see: just because older people get tired, it doesn't mean they're lazy. And when they say goodbye, it doesn't mean they're dying. The speaker concludes by insisting that they're just the same person they were in their youth, even if they're a little balder, a little thinner, and much more easily winded. But in spite of all that, this speaker feels lucky to be alive.
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“On Aging” Themes
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The Dignity of Old Age
“On Aging” expresses its aging speaker’s desire to be treated with dignity rather than condescension. Using blunt humor, the speaker knocks down a series of common assumptions about older people: that they’re lonely, pitiable, fragile, lazy, dying, and/or fundamentally different from their younger selves. In place of these assumptions, the speaker calls for understanding and respect. While acknowledging that older people endure some physical decline, the poem voices—and demands—appreciation for all that they still have and are.
The speaker is not yet very old but is old enough to encounter and push back against misconceptions about aging. The poem is addressed to “you”: a younger person (or any young people) who might hold such misconceptions. Much of the poem is also set in the future tense, suggesting that the speaker hasn’t yet seriously declined. Still, the present-tense details show that the speaker has faced some of the changes, and stereotypes, that come with getting older. The speaker thus sets boundaries, establishing how they want to be treated as they continue to age.
For instance, when the speaker rejects “pity” and condescension from the young, they argue by extension for the capability, dignity, and full personhood of senior citizens. The speaker rejects the assumption that they’re lonely and in need of comfort every time they look pensive. Rather, they’re thoughtful and independent (“listening to myself”).
Likewise, the speaker rejects the idea that diminished mobility means they’re “lazy” on the one hand or dying on the other. The speaker makes these points in amusingly blunt language (“every goodbye ain’t gone”) that highlights their sharp mind and strong personality. These qualities further argue against equating age with weakness.
The speaker admits that age takes a toll, but emphasizes their continuing vitality—and by extension, the vitality of seniors in general. After asserting that “I’m the same person I was,” the speaker lists the ways in which age has changed their body. This shows that they aren’t fooling themselves; they just view outward changes as superficial and unimportant. What the speaker values is their inner self, which hasn’t significantly changed, and the life they still have—a self and life they want younger people to value, too.
The poem describes the general plight of aging rather than specific problems and ailments. This generalized quality suggests that its lessons are meant to be broadly applied. “On Aging” targets demeaning stereotypes about all seniors, not just the speaker, and makes the case for treating older people as dignified individuals.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-20
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “On Aging”
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Lines 1-4
When you see ...
... listening to myself.This poem's aging speaker begins by highlighting their self-sufficiency and independence in a confrontational apostrophe to an unknown "you." The "you" they're addressing in these lines might be a specific younger person, a group of younger people, or younger people in general. From its very first lines, the poem as a whole warns younger people not to stereotype, patronize, or underestimate their elders.
In particular, lines 1-4 warn against the assumption that the speaker (and, by extension, seniors in general) are always lonely, and need constant conversation to comfort them. If they're "sitting quietly," the speaker says, it's because they want to be alone with their thoughts: it's because "I'm listening to myself." They're not secretly hoping someone will keep them company, and they don't need anyone else's "chattering" to cheer them up.
Though they're part of a larger stanza, these first four lines work as a rhymed quatrain, with an ABCB pattern. But readers shouldn't get too comfortable with that pattern: it will change and shift throughout the poem, and so will the meter! Like the speaker's personality, the verse will be a little rough around the edges, and will sometimes defy expectations.
The simile "Like a sack left on a shelf" shows the speaker's willingness to poke fun at themselves. They know they look as plain as a "sack" at this stage of their lives, and might appear lonely or forgotten, as if "left on the shelf." (But that doesn't give others the right to make assumptions about them.) Their blunt self-deprecation helps gain the reader's trust while adding a twinkle of humor to their proud, defiant tone.
At the same time, the humble words "sack" and "chattering" (linked with /a/ assonance) contrast with the more elevated phrase "listening to myself." It's as if the speaker's saying: I may not look like much, but I'm more thoughtful than you realize—and probably more interesting than you!
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Lines 5-8
Hold! Stop! Don’t ...
... do without it!
Unlock all 242 words of this analysis of Lines 5-8 of “On Aging,” and get the Line-by-Line Analysis for every poem we cover.
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Lines 9-12
When my bones ...
... no rocking chair. -
Lines 13-16
When you see ...
... goodbye ain’t gone. -
Lines 17-20
I’m the same ...
... still breathe in.
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“On Aging” Symbols
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The Rocking Chair
The rocking chair mentioned in the middle of the poem symbolizes the presumed helplessness of old age. The speaker literally says that they don't want a rocking chair when they lose mobility, but they're also figuratively saying that they don't want to be treated as delicate, fragile, or happy to gently rock back and forth on the sidelines of life. Rather, they want to be treated as independent and capable of managing their problems themselves.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 12: “Don’t bring me no rocking chair.”
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Breath
Breath is an age-old symbol of life and vitality. When the speaker admits having "A lot less lungs and much less wind" than when they were younger, they're literally saying that they get winded more easily, but they're also figuratively acknowledging that they're approaching the end of life. Still, they aren't gone yet, and they feel grateful for the life and vitality they still have—for the fact that they "can still breathe in."
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 19: “A lot less lungs and much less wind.”
- Line 20: “But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.”
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“On Aging” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Anaphora
The poem's frequent anaphora helps to create the speaker's urgent, insistent tone. The speaker shows flashes of gruff humor, but ultimately, they want to deliver a pointed message: Don't condescend to your elders. Treat them as human beings.
For instance, every single stanza here begins with the word "When"—a word that introduces a description of something the elderly speaker does, like "sitting quietly" or "stumbling." And a line that begins with "Don't" always follows hot on those descriptions' heels! This repeated structure highlights a key fact about the poem: it primarily explains how not to treat seniors. Just because they look lonely or weak from the outside doesn't mean they need condescending "pity" from younger people.
Anaphora also adds special emphasis to the speaker's cry:
Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!These forceful repetitions don't just make the speaker's feelings clear: they characterize the speaker, making them sound proud, independent, and no-nonsense.
But this speaker has a sense of humor, too. At the end of the poem, anaphora combines with diacope to shape a self-deprecating joke:
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.Here, the movement from the anaphora of "a little less" into "a lot less" and "much less" makes the speaker sound like they're making a joke at their own expense. They have to admit, they're not as young as they used to be—but their sense of humor is just one part of what still makes them feel "lucky" to be alive.
Where anaphora appears in the poem:- Line 1: “When”
- Line 3: “Don’t”
- Line 5: “Hold! Stop!”
- Line 6: “Hold! Stop”
- Line 9: “When”
- Line 12: “Don’t”
- Line 13: “When”
- Line 14: “Don’t”
- Line 18: “A little less,” “a little less”
- Line 19: “A lot less”
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Simile
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Apostrophe
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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“On Aging” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Chattering
- Understanding
- Study
Chattering-
(Location in poem: Line 3: “Don’t think I need your chattering.”)
Rambling talk. Here, the word implies unwanted, annoying chit-chat.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On Aging”
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Form
This poem's unusual shape reflects its speaker's independent-minded ideas about getting older.
"On Aging" doesn't follow a traditional form. It contains three stanzas—of eight, four, and eight lines, respectively—but its rhyme scheme also breaks it up into five four-line stanzas, or quatrains. In other words, the patterns of rhyme make the eight-line stanzas feel like two quatrains put together: for instance, lines 1-4 ("When you [...] myself.") form one quatrain with an ABCB rhyme scheme, and lines 5-8 ("Hold! Stop! [...] without it!") form another quatrain with a DDEE rhyme scheme.
The sounds, rhythms, and structures here feel a little unpredictable: the speaker uses slant rhymes, a varied meter, and unusual stanza forms. All these choices match the speaker's personality. This form, like the speaker, is lively and memorable, but not too fancy—and it doesn't always follow expectations!
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Meter
This poem's meter is as lively and unpredictable as its speaker. A lot of the lines here feel like accentual verse. That means that the lines don't consistently use any one metrical foot; instead, they use a certain number of stresses in an irregular pattern. For instance, take a look at lines 18-19:
A little less hair, a little less chin,
A lot less lungs and much less wind.Here each line contains six strong stresses, but their placement and the syllable count varies.
Lines 3-4, meanwhile, use only three strong stresses:
Don’t think | I need | your chattering.
I'm list- | ening to | myself.Lines 9-10 have a similar rhythm, with three stressed beats a piece falling in the same spots:
When my bones are stiff and aching,
And my feet won’t climb the stair,In general, the poem handles meter in a natural, unfussy, idiosyncratic way that suits the speaker's style. It seems to reinforce the speaker's point that, whatever anyone else might assume, they're highly capable and independent. They're able to do meter the "regular" way, but they like to do it their way.
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Rhyme Scheme
The poem's unconventional rhyme scheme flips between two different patterns. The first stanza provides a good example. Its rhymes run ABCBDDEE, like this:
[...] quietly [A]
[...] shelf [B]
[...] chattering [C]
[...] myself [B]
[...] pity me [D]
[...] sympathy [D]
[...] got it [E]
[...] without it [E]Both that back-and-forth ABCB pattern and that concluding pair of couplets come back in the last stanza; the shorter middle stanza just uses the ABCB pattern. This movement from singsongy variations to punchy one-two couplets fits right in with the speaker's funny-but-forceful tone.
The poem also often uses slant rhymes and imperfect rhymes—a choice that reflects how keen this speaker is to defy expectations! For instance, the slant rhyme between "got it" and "without it" in lines 7-8 reflects the speaker's emphatic rejection of the younger generation's "pity." The imperfect rhyme between "wrong" and "gone" in lines 14 and 16 does something similar, deflecting young folks' "wrong" assumptions with a slightly "wrong" rhyme.
All these variations help to evoke the speaker's rough-edged, unpretentious, unpredictable voice.
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“On Aging” Speaker
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The poem's speaker is an elderly person talking candidly about the aging process, confronting some of the stereotypes aging people face with crisp, no-nonsense humor.
It's likely that this speaker isn't that elderly yet, and certainly not in severe decline, because they're anticipating future decline: "When my bones are stiff and aching, etc." Still, as they acknowledge in the final stanza, age has already begun taking its toll on their body. They've lost some "hair," some weight ("a little less chin" suggests their face is leaner), and some stamina ("A lot less lungs and much less wind").
Their language is plainspoken and homespun rather than lofty and lyrical. They use humble figures of speech ("Like a sack left on the shelf") and lots of informal English ("if you got it," "Don't bring me no rocking chair," "ain't I lucky," etc.). But they don't reveal many personal details, making them a pretty universal and relatable spokesperson for older folks.
Maya Angelou's poems contain a variety of first-person speakers. Some closely reflect her real-life experience; others are clearly not her; others fall somewhere in between. This speaker is more informal than a lot of Angelou's voices but also overlaps with other Angelou speakers whom many readers interpret as "her"—for instance, the speaker of "Phenomenal Woman," who also uses colloquial language. Maybe Angelou wanted to leave some ambiguity: the speaker could be read as a version of her or as an invented persona who channels her feelings abut getting older.
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“On Aging” Setting
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The poem doesn't specify any clear setting. The speaker's heavy use of colloquial English ("Don't bring me no rocking chair," etc.) might suggest they come from somewhere in rural America—but again, that doesn't narrow things down too much!
The generic setting of the poem reinforces its purpose: it's meant to be, not a detailed portrait of a particular person in a particular time and place, but a universal statement about getting older.
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Literary and Historical Context of “On Aging”
Literary Context
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) first published "On Aging" in her popular 1978 collection And Still I Rise, the source of two of her best-known poems: "Still I Rise" and "Phenomenal Woman." Though not as widely quoted as these other two, "On Aging" shares a family resemblance with them: it contains a strong first-person voice, defiantly addresses an unnamed "you," and asserts pride and self-worth in the face of condescension.
The pride Angelou voiced in these poems had a deeply political as well as personal dimension. A Black American woman from working-class roots, she survived an abusive childhood and worked variously as a cable car conductor, nightclub dancer, actress, and journalist before achieving literary fame. She began writing seriously just when the Civil Rights Movement, in which she was personally active, gave way to the Black liberation and feminist movements of the late 1960s and 1970s.
She earned widespread acclaim for her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), titled after a line in Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "Sympathy." Much of her work, including "On Aging," celebrates the dignity of the disrespected, marginalized, and misunderstood.
As her career progressed, she became one of the bestselling and best-loved poets in the United States, as well as a highly sought-after lecturer and performer. She published six more autobiographies, read "On The Pulse of Morning" as the featured poet at the 1993 presidential inauguration, and directed a feature film.
Historical Context
"On Aging" is not set during a particular period, and it doesn't engage directly with historical themes. It deals with timeless subjects: aging, loss, pride.
However, it was published in 1978, after a generation of activism had brought the concerns of senior citizens to greater public awareness. Recent decades had seen the founding of the American Association of Retired Persons (a senior citizens' lobbying group), the passage of the Older Americans Act (which expanded federal funding and services for the elderly), and the formation of the Gray Panthers (an anti-ageism activist network).
As a writer and activist, Maya Angelou participated in other social justice campaigns of the period, including the Civil Rights Movement. Though she wasn't personally involved in the "elder rights" movement, and didn't necessarily intend "On Aging" as a political statement, the poem aligns with that movement's pursuit of respect for seniors. More broadly, it reflects Angelou's career-long concern with amplifying voices from the social margins.
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More “On Aging” Resources
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External Resources
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An Interview with Angelou — Read an interview with Angelou in which she looks back on her extraordinary life.
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A Performance of the Poem — Watch a performance of "On Aging" by actors Phylicia Rashad and Alexandria Wailes.
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The Poet Speaks About Aging — Watch Angelou chat with Oprah Winfrey about the experience of getting older.
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More on Angelou's Life and Work — Check out a bio of Angelou, and a selection of her poems, at the Academy of American Poets.
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A Biography of the Poet — Read the Poetry Foundation's summary of Angelou's life and career.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Maya Angelou
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