Still I Rise Response

Still I Rise

1. The poem ‘Still I Rise’, is about rising up from a past and history of oppression and hardship to become a powerful individual filled with hope and confidence even in the face of discrimination.

2. The poem was made to inspire people who have been beaten and oppressed and mistreated throughout their life to rise up from their pain to fight and empower themselves.

3. In the final stanza, Angelou repeats ‘I rise’ five times. The effect of this repetition is that she’s empowering herself and rising up from the difficulties of her past and history to fight back not just for herself but for her people and everyone who’s faced abused in their lives.

4. ‘You may cut me with your eyes’, is a metaphorical line that uses poetic language to compare the effect of eye contact with physical harm.
‘Shoulders falling down like teardrops’, is a simile reflecting the pain she has experienced by connecting falling, aching shoulders with teardrops.
‘Does my sassiness upset you?’ is a rhetorical question that is used to show the confidence that she has developed and to empower herself with her self-love.