Maya Angelou's "Remembrance" tells the story of an all-consuming love affair. The poem's speaker is a woman who is completely enraptured with her lover. When they're together, she feels so overpowered by her passion for him that she can hardly even think. It's only when he goes away, she observes, that she can completely "consume" him: he has to leave in order for her to have the pleasure of remembering him, enjoying his "presence" with her mind as well as her body. The poem celebrates the joy and power of intimate love—and shows a little healthy awe of that power, too! Angelou first collected this poem in her major 1978 book And Still I Rise.

• Read the full text of “Remembrance”

• “Remembrance” Summary

• “Remembrance” Themes

  • 

    The Power of Passion

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-15
  • 

    Experience and Memory

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 9-15

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Remembrance”

  • Lines 1-4

    Your hands easy ...
    ... of my cheek.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 4-8

    On the ...
    ... my reason.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 9-15

    When you have ...
    ... your presence.

    

    

    

    

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• “Remembrance” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

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    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “teasing the bees / hived in my hair”
    • Lines 5-7: “you press / above me, glowing, spouting / readiness”
    • Lines 7-8: “mystery rapes / my reason”
    • Lines 13-15: “then, only / then, can I greedily consume / your presence”

  • Assonance

    

    

    

    

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    Where assonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 3: “hived,” “hair”
    • Line 7: “readiness,” “rapes”
    • Line 8: “reason”
    • Line 12: “love lingers,” “between”
    • Line 13: “breasts”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

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    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-2: “easy / weight”
    • Lines 2-3: “bees / hived”
    • Lines 3-4: “the / slope”
    • Lines 4-5: “the / occasion”
    • Lines 5-6: “press / above”
    • Lines 6-7: “spouting / readiness”
    • Lines 7-8: “rapes / my”
    • Lines 9-10: “withdrawn / your”
    • Lines 10-11: “when / only”
    • Lines 11-12: “your / love”
    • Lines 12-13: “between / my”
    • Lines 13-14: “only / then”
    • Lines 14-15: “consume / your”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Your hands”
    • Line 3: “your smile”
    • Line 9: “When”
    • Line 10: “when”
    • Line 11: “only”
    • Line 13: “then,” “only”
    • Line 14: “then”

• “Remembrance” 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.

  • Mystery rapes my reason
  • Withdrawn
  • Lingers
  • (Location in poem: Lines 7-8: “mystery rapes / my reason”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Remembrance”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Remembrance” Speaker

• “Remembrance” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Remembrance”

• More “Remembrance” Resources

  • External Resources

    • An Interview With Angelou — Watch an excerpt of a 1987 interview with Angelou (and relish her one-of-a-kind speaking voice).

    • Angelou's Legacy — Visit a website devoted to Angelou's work.

    • A Brief Biography — Learn more about Angelou's life and work.

    • A Portrait of Angelou — See a portrait commemorating Angelou in DC's National Portrait Gallery.

    • A Celebration of Angelou — Read a New Yorker article about Angelou.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Maya Angelou

    • Caged Bird

    • Country Lover

    • Harlem Hopscotch

    • Life Doesn't Frighten Me

    • On Aging

    • On the Pulse of Morning

    • Phenomenal Woman

    • Still I Rise

    • When Great Trees Fall

    • Woman Work

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