The Full Text of “On Aging”
The Full Text of “On Aging”
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“On Aging” Introduction
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“On Aging” Summary
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“On Aging” Themes
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The Dignity of Old Age
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. -
Lines 5-8
Hold! Stop! Don’t ...
... do without it! -
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
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 12: “Don’t bring me no rocking chair.”
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Breath
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
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
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “When you see me sitting quietly, / Like a sack left on the shelf,”
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Apostrophe
Where apostrophe appears in the poem:- Line 1: “When you see me sitting quietly,”
- Line 3: “Don’t think I need your chattering.”
- Lines 5-7: “Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me! / Hold! Stop your sympathy! / Understanding if you got it,”
- Line 12: “Don’t bring me no rocking chair.”
- Lines 13-14: “When you see me walking, stumbling, / Don’t study and get it wrong.”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 1: “see,” “sitting”
- Line 2: “sack”
- Line 5: “Stop”
- Line 6: “Stop,” “sympathy”
- Line 13: “stumbling”
- Line 14: “study”
- Line 16: “goodbye,” “gone”
- Line 18: “little less,” “little less”
- Line 19: “lot less lungs,” “less”
- Line 20: “lucky”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “see,” “sitting,” “quietly”
- Line 2: “Like,” “sack,” “left”
- Line 4: “listening,” “myself”
- Line 5: “Hold! Stop! Don’t pity”
- Line 6: “Hold! Stop,” “sympathy”
- Line 7: “Understanding,” “got it”
- Line 8: “do without it”
- Line 9: “stiff”
- Line 10: “feet,” “stair”
- Line 11: “favor”
- Line 13: “stumbling”
- Line 14: “Don’t study”
- Line 16: “goodbye,” “gone”
- Line 18: “little less,” “little less”
- Line 19: “lot less lungs,” “less”
- Line 20: “lucky”
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End-Stopped Line
Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:- Line 1: “quietly,”
- Line 2: “shelf,”
- Line 3: “chattering.”
- Line 4: “myself.”
- Line 5: “me!”
- Line 6: “sympathy!”
- Line 7: “it,”
- Line 8: “it!”
- Line 9: “aching,”
- Line 10: “stair,”
- Line 11: “favor:”
- Line 12: “chair.”
- Line 13: “stumbling,”
- Line 14: “wrong.”
- Line 15: “azy”
- Line 16: “gone.”
- Line 17: “then,”
- Line 18: “chin,”
- Line 19: “wind.”
- Line 20: “in.”
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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
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(Location in poem: Line 3: “Don’t think I need your chattering.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On Aging”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“On Aging” Speaker
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“On Aging” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “On Aging”
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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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