Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I Am Not That

Compare and contrast the presentation of oppressionin I Am Not That

Woman and Still I Rise.

The poems I am studying are 'I Am Not That Woman' by Kishwar Naheed

and 'Still I Rise' by Maya Angelou, both in the twentieth century.

Both poets have based the poems on their own experiences of

suppression in their different cultures and they both continue to end

with feelings of hope.The poems show the different reactions and

attitudes of two very different women who in similar circumstances. In

'I Am Not That Woman', the poet has been oppressed in her culture of

the Asian society. By this she has been oppressed by the traditional

values of the Eastern culture but especially by her father and

husband. She is also trying to overcome this suppression but is not

really sure where she wants to go next with her life. In 'Still I

Rise', she has been suppressed by the white people of South America

but she has overcome this and thinks of herself as superior to the

white racists. I will begin by discussing 'I Am Not That Woman'.

The main theme to the poem is set in the Asian society, Eastern

culture. Although there is a new theme introduced in every verse, they

all add to the main theme of oppression. The woman is in the situation

of being forced into having an arranged marriage and not having any

freedom because of it. The poet seems bitter towards her father and

husband. She seems strong because she has got through her problems so

far and is angry and resentful about the whole situation. She seems

adamant to not let it happen to her for much longer.

The poem has no structure and no rhyming scheme, therefore written as

free verse. Each verse of the poem is directed towards a certain

person in particular - her fath...

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...ks around with pride and dignity, with the reference

to the oil wells as her acting as if she is rich, with the imagery of

her literally having oil wells in her living room. She expresses

herself effectively by the repetition of the title, 'Still I Rise' in

the poem, where she means she is rising above the white racists.

In conclusion I like both poems equally but think that 'Still I Rise'

is the more effective poem. I think this because the poet is stronger

and more confident in what she has written about. The language used in

'Still I Rise' is easier to understand at first glance than 'I Am Not

That Woman' which would also make people prefer 'Still I Rise' because

not as much needs explaining or working out. Although I prefer the

imagery in 'I Am Not That Woman' such as the 'garden' which was used

early on in the poem and then mentioned again later on.