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.
• “Still I Rise” Summary
o 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.
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.
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.

Questions:
[Link] do you think the speaker/narrator of the poem is? Is it a person? A cultural group?
2. Identify words or phrases that help you identify the speaker/narrator.
[Link] does the speaker/narrator seem to feel about herself (or itself)?
4. Draw a face that· represents that emotion (e.g., a smiley face, sad face or angry face) next to a word
phrase that exhibits it.
5. Have you ever felt that way about yourself? If so, share with your partner what makes you feel that
way.
6. To whom do you think the poem is directed?

7. Highlight words and phrases that support your answers and share them with your partner.
8. What message is the writer trying to give to the person or group to which she is writing?
9. Have you ever had to give a similar message to someone? If so, when?
10. What do you believe the poem’s overall theme is? Examples include hopelessness, strength,
resiliency, spirit and anger.
11. Write the theme you have identified at the top of the poem. Then draw an arrow to a word or
phrase from the poem that supports that theme.
12. Do you see this poem in a historical context? If so, explain that context to your partner.
· Finally, consider and share with your partner how your own knowledge, experiences and cultural
13. Identify influence the way you have chosen to interpret the poem.
14. Have you interpreted it differently than your partner?
15. Maya Angelou is considered an American Master?
16. What does it mean to be a “master” at something?
17. Maya Angelou turned her childhood tragedy into triumph.
18. What lessons can we learn from her example?
19. Many of Maya Angelou’s poems are centered on empowerment, equality and self-worth.
Why is this so important?
20. Maya Angelou expressed her artistry through singing, dancing and writing.
How do you express yourself artistically?
21. Maya Angelou’s writing spoke to segregation and the mistreatment of minorities in the 1950s and
’60s. Do you think her poetry speaks to the racial climate in 21st century America? Why or why not?
22. The Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise documentary includes interviews with many famous people.
Which interview moved your or surprised you the most? Why?
23. The events of history, culture and the arts shaped Dr. Angelou’s life.
How does today’s culture shape your life?
23. The Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise documentary was created posthumously. If someone were to
create a documentary about your life, what would people say about you? What legacy will you leave
society?

24. Maya Angelou is well-known for her poem, Still I Rise. If you were to create a poem about
today’s culture and social climate what would be the title?

Assignment question:
1. Compile information about two great personalities who faced difficulties in life and demonstrated
courage and resilience and do a writeup.