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“Still I Rise” Introduction
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“Still I Rise” is a poem by the American civil rights activist and writer Maya Angelou. One of Angelou's most acclaimed works, the poem was published in Angelou’s third poetry collection And Still I Rise in 1978. Broadly speaking, the poem is an assertion of the dignity and resilience of marginalized people in the face of oppression. Because Angelou often wrote about blackness and black womanhood, "Still I Rise" can also be read more specifically as a critique of anti-black racism.
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“Still I Rise” Summary
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You have the ability to shape how history remembers me with your hurtful, warped lies. You have the power to walk all over me, crushing me into the dirt itself. But even so, I will rise up from the ground just as dust rises from the earth.
Does my bold and cheeky attitude offend you? Why are you so miserable? Maybe it's because of the confident way I walk, as if I had oil wells right in my living room.
I am like the moon and the sun, the rises of which are as inevitable as the rise of ocean tides. Just like high hopes, I will keep rising.
Were you hoping to see me looking sad and defeated? Did you want to see me in a submissive posture, with my head bent and eyes looking down rather than up at you? Did you want to see my shoulders slouching down in the same way that tears fall down, my body having been weakened by all my intense sobbing?
Is my pride making you mad? Are you so upset because I am so happy and joyful that it seems as though I must have gold mines in my own backyard?
You have the ability to shoot at me with your words, which are like bullets. You have the ability to cut me with your sharp glare. You may even kill me with your hatred. Nevertheless, just as the air keeps rising, I will keep rising.
Does my sex appeal make you upset? Are you taken aback by the fact that I dance as though I have precious gems between my legs?
I rise up out of history's shameful act of slavery. I rise up from this deeply painful past. I am as vast and full of power as a dark ocean that rises and swells and carries in the tide.
I rise up, and in doing so leave behind all the darkness of terror and fear. I rise up, and in doing so enter a bright morning that is full of joyful wonder. With the personal qualities and grace I inherited from my ancestors, I embody the dreams and hopes of past enslaved peoples. I will rise, and rise, and rise.
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“Still I Rise” Themes
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Defiance in the Face of Oppression
“Still I Rise” presents the bold defiance of the speaker, implied to be a black woman, in the face of oppression. This oppressor, addressed throughout as “you,” is full of “bitter, twisted lies” and “hatefulness” toward the speaker, and hopes to see the speaker “broken” in both body and spirit. However, despite all the methods of the oppressor to “shoot,” “cut,” or “kill” her, the speaker remains defiant by continuing to “rise” in triumph.
Angelou was a staunch civil rights activist, and “Still I Rise” can be taken as a powerful statement specifically against anti-black racism in America. At the same time, its celebration of dignity in the face of oppression feels universal, and can be applied to any circumstance in which a marginalized person refuses to be broken by—and, indeed, repeatedly rises above—prejudice and hatred.
Society relentlessly tries to humiliate and demean the speaker, who has little power to fight back. The speaker acknowledges that society “may” enact violence upon her. It also has the ability to write “lies” about the speaker and present them as facts. The speaker does not have the ability to prevent any of this, and, in fact, the attempts to harm the speaker only escalate as the poem continues. This “you” may crush the speaker into the dirt; it may “shoot,” “cut,” and eventually even “kill” the speaker with “hatefulness.” An oppressive society, the poem is saying, presents a clear and pressing danger to the speaker’s body and mind.
Yet the speaker responds to this treatment not only by surviving, but by thriving—something that provokes anger from her oppressor. The speaker wonders—her tone tongue-in-cheek—why the oppressor is so “upset,” “offend[ed],” and “gloom[y].” Perhaps, she proposes, it is because of her confident “walk,” generous “laugh[ter],” or dazzling “dance.” In other words, the speaker presents her joy—her refusal to bend to the speaker’s will—as its own act of defiance. Moreover, all of her acts are associated with traditional signs of wealth in the form of “oil,” “gold,” and “diamonds.”
Regardless of the oppressor’s negative and hateful responses, the speaker continues to prosper. The speaker even explicitly rejects the oppressor’s desire to “see [her] broken.” The oppressor wants to elicit “lowered eyes,” “teardrops,” and “soulful cries” from the speaker, to see her downtrodden. Thus simply living with joy, pride, and dignity is an act of resistance against and triumph over oppression.
Indeed, the speaker “rise[s]” repeatedly over the oppressor’s violent hatred and prejudice. The speaker’s rise is first compared to the rise of “dust,” a reference to the earth. Later, her rise transforms from the rise of “dust” to “air,” which is located physically above the earth. The progression of these comparisons over the course of the poem reinforces the speaker’s rise over oppression. And just like the rise of “moons and … suns,” the speaker’s rise is inevitable and unstoppable. Her dignity and strength are qualities that society can’t touch, no matter how hard it tries. The speaker is thus able to ascend out of “history’s shame” and “a past that’s rooted in pain,” both of which are particular references to slavery, by living with pride and joy. Indeed, her rise—a powerful form of resistance against oppression—is the ultimate “dream” and “hope” of oppressed peoples.
Given this context, the poem has clear and particular resonance for black Americans. More broadly, the poem is a ringing assertion of the dignity of marginalized people and an insistence on their ultimate, inevitable triumph over violence and hate.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4
- Lines 5-6
- Lines 7-8
- Line 9
- Lines 10-12
- Lines 13-16
- Lines 17-20
- Lines 21-24
- Lines 25-28
- Lines 29-32
- Line 40
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The Power and Beauty of Blackness
Maya Angelou’s work often focused on the experience of being a black woman in America. Read within that context, “Still I Rise” becomes more than a call for strength in the face of hardship: it’s also a modern-day ode to the power and beauty of blackness. Although the speaker’s racist society believes that black people’s lives and bodies are less worthy than others', the speaker herself vehemently rejects that idea. The speaker asserts her full humanity and also associates her body with symbols of value, such as “oil wells,” “gold mines,” and “diamonds.” These comparisons implicitly critique racist and sexist assumptions of beauty and power as being tied only to whiteness and masculinity, respectively. Instead, the poem becomes an ode to black womanhood.
In a racist world, the poem implies, society continuously denies the full humanity of black people. Society wishes to the speaker were “broken,” “cut,” or even “kill[ed].” Rather than valuing the lives and humanity of black people, society actively hopes to harm and destroy them. Society’s “shame[ful]” history of slavery was of course the ultimate dehumanization; black people who were enslaved experienced unimaginable “pain” and “nights of terror and fear” as any agency over their own lives and bodies was taken away from them. The speaker references this history to illustrate how little society has historically valued black life.
Nevertheless, the speaker insists on the inherent humanity, value, power, and beauty of her black body. The speaker rises “like dust,” a subtle biblical allusion: in the Bible, God created humans from “dust,” and humans return to “dust” once they die. By stating that she is “like dust,” the speaker asserts her full humanity; she is as much a creation of God as anyone else. The speaker also walks as though she possesses “oil wells,” laughs as though she owns “gold mines,” and dances as though she has “diamonds” suggestively placed between her thighs. These symbols are all objects of great value. Oil wells provide their owners with wealth and, consequently, power. Gold and diamonds are expensive and prized for their beauty. Thus, the speaker assigns value to her body and grants it power and beauty regardless of what society says. In particular, the placement of the diamonds “[a]t the meeting of … [her] thighs” speaks specifically to the speaker’s womanhood. (The reference also feels distinctly autobiographical as Angelou once worked as a nightclub dancer.) Taken as a whole, the lines declare and reclaim the speaker’s body and power in her femininity as a black woman. The speaker also insists that she is a "black ocean," a vast, powerful, and unstoppable figure.
The speaker thus doesn't assert her strength in spite of her blackness, but rather insists that her strength comes from her identity as a black person. And by subverting readers’ expectations of an ode and who or what it should praise, Angelou challenges the assumed white gaze of her readership. Humanity, power, and beauty, Angelou declares, are abundant in blackness and black womanhood.
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Line 4
- Line 5
- Line 7
- Line 8
- Line 17
- Lines 19-20
- Lines 22-23
- Line 25
- Lines 27-28
- Line 29
- Line 31
- Lines 33-34
- Line 35
- Lines 39-40
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Still I Rise”
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Lines 1-4
You may write ...
... dust, I'll rise.The first two lines of "Still I Rise" establish the antagonistic relationship between the speaker, implied to be a black woman, and her oppressor, addressed throughout simply as "you." The speaker accepts that her oppressor has the power to write "lies" about the speaker and present them as historical facts. This suggests that the "you" here represents society as a whole, and more specifically white society.
Historical narratives are typically shaped by the perspective of the powerful—and, in the U.S., white people have long been those with the most power in society. The speaker is thus alluding to the idea that the experiences of oppressed and marginalized peoples have long been filtered through a distant and unsympathetic (if not outright racist) perspective. The speaker here is thus talking back to a world that has tried to suppress her voice, insisting that her truth and spirit will rise above whatever falsehoods a prejudiced society wants to spread.
Furthermore, by addressing the oppressor figure as "you" through the use of apostrophe, Angelou suggests the reader may also be implicated in racist social structures and attitudes. Angelou thus asks her poem's readers to question their own privilege and prejudices toward blackness.
The speaker also allows that her oppressor may step on her ("trod") and crush her into the dirt. This oppressor clearly has little care for the speaker. And, as highlighted through anaphora of the phrase "You may," the speaker has no power to literally stop this from happening.
Nevertheless, the speaker will rise above this humiliation. In the fourth and final line of the stanza, the speaker uses a simile to compare her rise to that of dust kicked up when stamping on the ground. There is also a subtle biblical allusion in the image of this rising dust: in the Bible, humans are said to be created by God from "dust" and to return to "dust" upon death. By stating that she is "like dust," the speaker asserts that she, too, is a creation of God and is equal to anyone else. In doing so, the speaker demands her oppressor and society as a whole recognize her full humanity.
The meter of the first stanza is also worth noting. The first three lines contain a series of trochees in its pattern of stressed-unstressed syllables:
... write me down in history
... bitter, twisted lies,
... trod me in the very dirtThe so-called "falling rhythm" of the trochees reflect the negativity of the first three lines, namely the speaker's acknowledgement of her oppressor's ability to humiliate her. However, the meter changes to iambic (unstressed-stressed) in the last line of the stanza:
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
The shift to "rising meter" not only reflects the "rise" of the speaker, but also stands in direct contrast to the negative tone of the first three lines. The final spondee (stressed-stressed) of "I'll rise" also adds extra strength and emphasis to this phrase.
In terms of overall structure, this first and following six stanzas are all quatrains. Within each quatrain, the second and fourth lines rhyme with one another, while the first and third lines do not. In this first quatrain, the rhyme scheme is thus ABCB.
In rhyming "lies" with "rise," the poem emphasizes that the speaker is able to directly counter the "lies" of the oppressor with her "rise." This emphasis reiterates the power of the speaker's "rise."
In a larger sense, by establishing a formal structure at the beginning, the poem creates an opportunity to later subvert that structure in defiance of the reader's expectations. This subversion will be an interesting echo of the subversion in meter and tone within the first stanza itself.
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Lines 5-8
Does my sassiness ...
... my living room.
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Lines 9-12
Just like moons ...
... Still I'll rise. -
Lines 13-16
Did you want ...
... my soulful cries? -
Lines 17-20
Does my haughtiness ...
... my own backyard. -
Lines 21-24
You may shoot ...
... air, I’ll rise. -
Lines 25-28
Does my sexiness ...
... of my thighs? -
Lines 29-34
Out of the ...
... in the tide. -
Lines 35-40
Leaving behind nights ...
... of the slave. -
Lines 41-43
I rise ...
... I rise.
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“Still I Rise” Symbols
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Valuable objects
"[O]il wells," "gold mines," and "diamonds" are all either sources of valuable material or precious objects themselves. All three are highly desired by human society and/or considered beautiful. In "Still I Rise," these objects and sources of value are symbolically associated with the oppressed and marginalized speaker, indicating the inherent beauty and value of her body.
In the first instance of this symbol, the speaker compares her "walk" to the walk of someone who owns "oil wells." In the second instance, the speaker "laugh[s]" as though she owns "gold mines." In the third and final instance of the symbol, the speaker "dance[s]" as though she has "diamonds" on her body. There is a clear escalation of value as the poem progresses from "oil" to "gold" to "diamonds." As the intimacy of the comparisons increases, from "walk" and "laugh" to "the meeting of my thighs," the value of the symbols increases. Thus, this escalation of objects and sources of value emphasizes the value of the speaker's actions and, most of all, her body itself. Therefore, however society may humiliate and look down upon the actions and bodies of oppressed people, they are just as beautiful and worthy as anyone else.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 7-8: “I walk like I've got oil wells / Pumping in my living room”
- Lines 19-20: “I laugh like I've got gold mines / Diggin’ in my own backyard”
- Lines 27-28: “I dance like I've got diamonds / At the meeting of my thighs”
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The Ocean
The ocean is a powerful force of nature, with regular and inevitable tides. It contains a turbulence of waves without breaking apart. Furthermore, the waves may fall, but will always rise again. In "Still I Rise," the ocean symbolizes the speaker's power, which is a force of its own that cannot be inhibited by human efforts.
The speaker's rise above oppression and prejudice is as "certain[]" as the "tides." The tides, just like the speaker, may fall or, in the speaker's case, be crushed by the oppressor. However, this fall is only temporary. It is "certain" that the tides, and thus the speaker, will rise again.
Near the end of the poem, the speaker, presumed to be a black woman, declares she is a "black ocean" and highlights its scale and properties. This ocean rises to great heights ("leaping") and covers vast distances ("wide"). Moreover, it is not any ocean. Rather, this ocean, a metaphor for the speaker's power, is "black." Thus, the speaker's blackness is not a detriment to her power, but a part of it.
The ocean also becomes more immense and powerful ("welling and swelling") as it brings in the tide upon the shore. When the tide is brought in upon the shore, it is a rising tide. Thus, the speaker, like the ocean, only grows more powerful as she rises. The poem uses the ocean to represent the speaker's power inherent in her blackness and the inevitability of her rise above oppression.
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 10: “the certainty of tides”
- Lines 33-34: “I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.”
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“Still I Rise” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Metaphor
Metaphor occurs in the latter half of "Still I Rise." In lines 21-23, for instance, the speaker uses metaphorical language when listing off various things her oppressor may do to harm her:
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,Of course, you cannot literally "shoot" someone with words, because words are not bullets; similarly, "eyes" are not knives and cannot "cut" people, and "hatefulness" is not, in itself, deadly. The speaker is using figurative language to emphasize just how painful it is to be surrounded by racism in society—how much it hurts to be barraged with hateful language, stares, and a general feeling of being despised.
Later, in line 29, the speaker describes "the huts of history's shame." History cannot actually feel shame, and this metaphor (that edges on personification) is really an allusion to slavery. The institution of slavery is a scar on American history, a deeply shameful memory out of which the speaker declares she will "rise."
More metaphors pop up in lines 33 and 40. In both cases, the metaphors build on the many previous instances of simile in the poem. Earlier in the poem, the speaker used simile to compare her rise to, for example, the rise of "dust," "moons," "suns," "hopes," and "air." She was "like" these natural forces, but she did not embody them.
However, the speaker switches from simile to metaphor in the last two stanzas. These final stanzas are also notably a departure from the quatrain form of the first seven stanzas. Thus, they can be considered the conclusion of the poem. In the first example of metaphor, the speaker states that she is "a black ocean" (line 33). She is no longer simply "like moons" or "like suns." By the end of the poem, she is a force of nature—"a black ocean"—in and of herself.
Similarly, in the second example of metaphor, the speaker states that she is "the dream and the hope of the slave" (line 40). She is not just "like" "the dream and the hope"; she is it. These more definite assertions are an escalation of the previous similes and contribute to a satisfying conclusion to the poem. The speaker's confidence in herself and her ability to overcome hatred and prejudice are clear.
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 21: “You may shoot me with your words”
- Line 22: “You may cut me with your eyes,”
- Line 23: “You may kill me with your hatefulness”
- Line 29: “the huts of history’s shame”
- Line 33: “I'm a black ocean”
- Line 40: “I am the dream and the hope of the slave”
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Simile
Unlock all 239 words of this analysis of Simile in “Still I Rise,” and get the poetic device analyses for every poem we cover.
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Rhetorical Question
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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Alliteration
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Consonance
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Assonance
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“Still I Rise” 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.
- Trod
- Beset
- Gloom
- Oil wells
- Springing
- Soulful
- Huts
- Rooted
- Welling
- Bear
Trod-
(Location in poem: Line 3: “trod”)
The past tense of "tread," which means to step or walk. Here, Angelou uses "trod" to describe the oppressor trampling the speaker and crushing her into the dirt.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Still I Rise”
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Form
"Still I Rise" is composed of three different types of stanzas:
- 7 rhymed quatrains
- 1 sestet
- 1 nine-line stanza
The poem begins with seven rhymed quatrains (four-line stanzas) that introduce the antagonistic relationship between the speaker and the "you" figure. These quatrains make is clear that the "you" hopes to oppress the speaker. The speaker, however, remains defiant by living with joy and rising above hatred and prejudice.
As the poem progresses, the form shifts from quatrains to a sestet, or six-line stanza. Thus, just as the speaker subverts her oppressor's expectations by rising despite his oppression and hatred, so too does the poem subverts readers' expectations of the form. The shift in form also indicates a tonal shift. The speaker no longer addresses her oppressor in a tongue-in-cheek dialogue. Instead, the sestet is comprised of assertions of her own power that stand alone. These assertions are filled with solemnity and confidence.
The last stanza shifts again from a sestet to a nine-line stanza. The first six lines of this last stanza are a structural echo of the previous stanza in form and rhyme scheme. However, this last stanza has an additional three lines, all of which consist solely of the phrase "I rise." The use of repetition and epizeuxis in these last three lines highlight the importance of the phrase and affirm it as the poem's refrain. There is a resounding triumph in the speaker's declaration of her rise.
The clear progression of shifts in form and tone provide contributes to readers' satisfaction in their experience of the poem. The ending tone of triumph, toward which the form of the poem builds, is a message of hope for oppressed and marginalized people.
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Meter
Angelou uses meter in "Still I Rise" to emphasize and highlight certain moods; shifts in meter, therefore, often indicate a shift in mood. There is no single, overarching meter guiding the poem, which can be read with various inflections; Angelou's poetry is often best appreciated when read aloud, and different readers may stress different words.
That said, Angelou often uses a clear trochaic rhythm, also known as "falling rhythm." The first three lines, for example, are dominated by trochees (a poetic foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable):
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirtThe first feet here—"You may," "With your," and again "You may"—could arguably be scanned as spondees (a foot consisting of two stressed syllables in a row) or even pyrrhics (two unstressed syllables in a row); it all depends on the reader. More important than getting bogged down in terminology is appreciating the lines' general sensation of falling rhythm, the sound of the poem moving from an emphasized beat to an unstressed beat again and again—DUM da DUM da. However, in the last line of the stanza, the meter changes to almost the exact opposite of what has come thus far in the poem—da DUM da DUM:
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
The shift to roughly iambic, or "rising meter," highlights the positive response of the speaker to her oppressor. Despite his hatred and prejudice, she will rise above him. The content and tone of the line is a direct contrast to the content and tone of the first three lines. The shift in the meter reflects and emphasizes that change. The meter of the sixth stanza ("You may shoot ... But still, like air, I'll rise.") is an echo of the form and function of the first.
Angelou also uses the rhythm of the meter to enhance the imagery of her lines. Take stanza 7, for example, which is again written in generally trochaic meter:
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?Again, it's possible to read this a bit differently—some readers might not stress "That I," for example. The overall regularity of the meter's rhythm, however, evokes the rhythm of the speaker's "dance." The image of diamonds embedded on the speaker's body is a hypnotizing one. The relatively steady rhythm, too, of the lines, matches that hypnotic imagery.
Another way Angelou uses meter is to increase emphasis on a phrase or idea. For example, the phrase "I rise" itself is another spondee—two stresses in a row, creating additional emphasis on the phrase and highlighting its importance as the poem's central image and message of rising above oppression.
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Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme of "Still I Rise" works a lot like the poem's form; shifts in the rhyme scheme indicate shifts in tone and content. The rhyme scheme within the first seven quatrains establishes an initial pattern. The first and third lines are unrhymed, while the second and fourth lines rhyme. The overall rhyme scheme of the quatrains is thus:
ABCB
The most common rhyme (the B rhyme) is based on the long /i/ sound. This rhyme includes, significantly, the word "rise." As the idea of rising above oppression is the overarching message of the poem, each B rhyme is an evocation of this central idea and is carried throughout the poem.
The final two stanzas, however, subvert previously established patterns of both form and rhyme scheme. This shift in pattern indicates shifts in content and tone. In these last two stanzas, the speaker no longer directly addresses or engages in dialogue with her oppressor. Instead, these last two stanzas are stand-alone assertions of the speaker's power and transformative rise. Furthermore, this subversion of the established rhyme scheme, in defiance of readers' expectations, is an interesting echo of the speaker's subversion of her oppressor's expectations.
Taking a closer look, the rhyme schemes of the eighth stanza is as follows:
ABABCC
And here's how that pattern actually plays out:
... shame (A)
I rise (B)
... pain (A)
I rise (B)
... wide, (C)
... tide. (C)Note that the B rhyme here is in fact just a direct repetition of the word "rise." "[W]ide" and "tide"—which form a perfect rhyming couplet with each other—also chime with "rise" because of their assonant long /i/ sound.
The final stanza is then:
ABABCCBBB
Once again, the B rhyme here is actually just repetition of the word "rise." The long /i/ sound has echoed throughout the poem, and it thus culminates in this final image of the speaker in the midst of her "rise." Therefore, the rhyme scheme helps build toward the climax of the poem and relate its central message of rising defiantly above oppression.
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“Still I Rise” Speaker
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The speaker of "Still I Rise" is someone who faces unjust hatred and prejudice from society. She is also clearly a person who is unafraid to confront her oppressors and mock them with a series of cheeky rhetorical questions. Finally, she is also confident enough to assert her inevitable rise above such antipathy.
More specifically, the speaker of "Still I Rise" is strongly implied to be Angelou herself (which is why we've chosen to use female pronouns in reference to the speaker throughout this guide). The reference to the speaker "danc[ing] like [she's] got diamonds/ At the meeting of [her] thighs" is, perhaps, a nod to Angelou's past as a nightclub dancer. The allusions to slavery and the metaphor comparing the speaker to a "black ocean" also imply that the speaker is a black person living in the western world.
That said, the speaker can also be considered more broadly as representative of any person facing the indignity of racism and oppression. The speaker, who successfully rises above such oppression at the end of the poem, can then be viewed as a symbol of hope for marginalized peoples around the world.
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“Still I Rise” Setting
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"Still I Rise" does not have a setting beyond that of modern society in general. Within this society, there are oppressors ("you") who are filled with hatred and prejudice, and there are those (the speaker) who are marginalized. As the poem progresses, the speaker reveals that this society is one that has had a shameful history of slavery. While the poem is implied to specifically refer to the historical oppression of black people, the lack of specific setting helps the poem's message of triumph in the face of prejudice and hate feel universal.
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Literary and Historical Context of “Still I Rise”
Literary Context
"Still I Rise" was published in 1978 in Maya Angelou's third volume of poetry, And Still I Rise. At this point in her career, Angelou was already an established writer, having previously produced six plays, three autobiographies (including the famous I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings), two poetry books, and one spoken-word album. After publication, "Still I Rise" became not only one of the most famous poems from its collection, but also one of the most famous and well-known poems of Angelou's career.
Much of Angelous's poetry is often autobiographical and as such tackles issues related to black identity and womanhood. Angelou herself once said she felt she "was following a tradition established by Frederick Douglass—the slave narrative" in her use of personal narrative in her work. A singer, songwriter, dancer, playwright, and actress, Angelou also often blended recitation, theater, music, and dance in her performances onstage. Perhaps it's no wonder then that Angelou's poetry has often been described by as even better heard than read. Indeed, "Still I Rise" can perhaps best be appreciated through performance.
The performative quality of Angelou's poetry has roots in African American oral traditions as well as in the Harlem Renaissance, a movement centered on black arts and expression in the 1920s. The poetry at the time was heavily influenced by jazz rhythms. Additionally, poetry and the literature produced by Harlem Renaissance writers focused on and celebrated blackness. Oftentimes poets, such as Langston Hughes (whom Angelou counted as an influence on her work), were writers as well as social activists. Angelou herself joined the Harlem Writers Guild in the 1950s, alongside other prominent black authors (such as James Baldwin).
Angelou's influence on American literature is immeasurable. Her performances onstage have had a large impact on modern slam poetry, a popular contemporary genre of poetry meant to be read aloud. "Still I Rise" has also influenced and inspired responses from artists and writers and been recited by well-known figures from Nicki Minaj to Serena Williams. The poem's message of rising above oppression and triumphing over hatred has long resonated, and in all likelihood will continue to resonate, with readers across the world.
Historical Context
Angelou wrote "Still I Rise" in the decade following the American Civil Rights movement. This movement was focused on achieving equality for black people and other people of color in the United States. During this time, activists were able to successfully achieve landmark legislation and judicial rulings, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Angelou herself was a passionate Civil Rights activist and in fact worked for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The assassination of Dr. King, one of the most prominent and inspirational leaders of the movement, in 1968 was a terrible loss to the black community and the movement as a whole. Of course, the fight for equality did not end there.
Angelou wrote this poem in the late 1970s, during the Post-Civil Rights Movement Era—though, of course, racism continued to persist long past the movement's end. The black feminist movement had also found strength by this time, fueled by disappointment within the broader Civil Rights and feminist movements.
Racism, hatred, and prejudice continue to persist in America. Thus, it is no wonder that "Still I Rise," a poem about overcoming oppression, continues to resonate and remain relevant for so many people today.
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More “Still I Rise” Resources
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External Resources
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"Still I Rise" and Today's America — Read about the relevance and meaning of "Still I Rise" to America today.
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The Political Power of "Still I Rise" — Learn how the poem has remained relevant for contemporary political figures and celebrities.
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"Still I Rise" Art Exhibit — Learn how other artists have been inspired by and responded to Angelou's poem.
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Maya Angelou Recites "Still I Rise" — Listen to the poet read "Still I Rise" aloud.
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"Still I Rise" Music Video — Watch a video that creatively integrates Angelou's recitation of the poem with relevant images.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Maya Angelou
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