This study guide will help you analyze the poem “Still I Rise” (1978) by Maya Angelou. You can also find a summary of the poem, as well as ideas for interpreting it and putting it into perspective.
Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014) was an American poet, writer, and civil rights activist. Her 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings brought her international acclaim and was one of the first popular autobiographies of African-American women. Angelou would go on to write six other memoirs. Her works often deal with themes such as racism, identity, and family, and are studied at many schools and universities around the world. Her poem “Still I Rise” is one of her most well-known and was published in her poetry collection And Still I Rise (1978).
Excerpt
Below, you can read an excerpt from our study guide:
Similes
Throughout the poem, the speaker uses many similes, particularly in conjunction with the phrase “I rise”. First, she says she will rise “like dust” (l. 4), then “like moons and like suns, (…)/ Just like hopes springing high” (l. 9-11), and lastly, “like air” (l. 24). These similes are meant to highlight the inevitability of the speaker’s resilience and triumph, which, similarly to natural phenomena such as the cycle of day and night, cannot be stopped.
The speaker also uses similes to show her confidence and sense of self-worth. She says she walks “like I’ve got oil wells / Pumping in my living room” (ll. 7-8), laughs “like I’ve got gold mines / Diggin’ in my own backyard” (ll. 19-20), and dances “like I’ve got diamonds / At the meeting of my thighs?” (ll. 27-28). The comparisons to earthly riches such as oil, gold, or diamonds suggests that the speaker is acting as though she is rich. However, instead of ...
