Poem analysis

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
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.


1. The poet used mostly simile in his poem, he is using the poem to tell people that he will still rise no matter how hated by people he is. The poet uses it to elaborate on how he will still rise.
E.g. 1.like dust I’ll rise
2.'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
3. Just like moons and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes springing high, still I'll rise.
4. Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
5. 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard.
6. Like air, I'll rise.
7. I dance like I've got diamond at the meeting of my thighs

2. I like this poem done by Maya Angelo due his constant using of simile to elaborate on what he is writing on and making the poem sound fun and exciting. The poem also rhythms so it sounds very creative, it is just like music in my ears. It also tells people that people that we should not have negative feeling just because you were being dreaded by people, we must still continue with life and still rise. The use of simile is also creative in how he describes how he will still rise. I also think it is extraordinary than other poems. So this is why I like this poem is better than the other.