A poem can capture the mind, soul, and the bare heart, but, how can one’s interpretation of a poem alter the true value of the poem itself? The answer to this question may vary, depending on one’s interpretation. Then again, that response can be used to answer every question this world holds. Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and influential voices of our time. Hailed as a global renaissance woman, Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. As a strong African-American woman, she has experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, yet also absorbed the unshakable faith and values of traditional African-American family, community, and culture. Dr. Maya Angelou’s notorious aspects in her personality have formally made recognizable and has affected her true style of poetry in a positive manner, along with the literary era her poetry is from and her past life experiences and influences. Dr. Maya Angelou embodies the characteristics of the Contemporary Era as demonstrated in her poem, “Alone,” which comprises of writings of a class distinguishable by a high standard of writing; be it beauty, composition, style or significance. “There is more to Contemporary literature than merely a time period. There are also stylistic issues and issues with personal subjectivity that cause certain classifications within and omissions from this genre to be contested” (http://www.illiterarty.com/genre-contemporary-literature). Maya Angelou although, fits the Contemporary Era perfectly, due to her ability to portray her poetry in a manner that is “written by a high standard of writing; be it beauty, composition, style or significance”. Her poem, “Al... ... middle of paper ... ...ts, especially in that of the Contemporary Era of literature. Works Cited "Alone by Maya Angelou." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of poems and poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . "Genre: Contemporary literature | Illiterarty.com." Illiterarty.com | Book reviews and blogs by Bridget. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . "Maya Angelou - Biography -." Biography.com. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . "Maya Angelou Criticism." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. . "Still I Rise by Maya Angelou." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of poems and poets.. Poetry Search Engine. Web. 16 Feb. 2010. .
Maya Angelou’s “Equality” depicts a more patient yet tenacious rebel than described in Dunbar’s poem. “You declare you see me dimly”, she begins, “through a glass that will not shine.” Maya describes the denial of her boldness, of her rebellion; but, she continues to march, chanting “Equality and I will be free. Equality and I will be free.” She identifies herself as a shadow, unimportant to those she opposes— but she intends to repeat the mantra “Equality and I will be free” until she is heard. The sixth stanza left me in literal tears (and I am not an emotional person, thank you very
This literary critique was found on the Bryant Library database. It talks about how well Maya conveys her message to her readers as well as portraying vivid scenes in her reader’s minds’. Maya’s sense of story and her passionate desire to overcome obstacles and strive for greatness and self-appreciation is what makes Maya an outlier. Living in America, Angelou believed that African American as a whole must find emotional, intellectual, and spiritual sustenance through reverting back to their “home” of Africa. According to Maya, “Home” was the best place to capture a sense of family, past, and tradition. When it comes to Maya’s works of literature, her novels seems to be more critically acclaimed then her poetry. With that being said, Angelou pursues harsh social and political issues involving African American in her poems. Some of these themes are the struggle for civil rights in America and Africa, the feminist movement, Maya’s relationship with her son, and her awareness of the difficulties of living in America's struggling classes. Nevertheless, in all of Maya’s works of literature she is able to “harness the power of the word” through an extraordinary understanding of the language and events she uses and went through. Reading this critique made me have a better understanding of the process Maya went through in order to illustrate her life to her readers. It was not just sitting down with a pen and paper and just writing thoughts down. It was really, Maya being able to perfect something that she c...
Contemporary literature is a modern form of writing, which was born out of the devastations of World War II, characterized by unique features such as linguistic and stylistic characteristics, and thematic features. It is the product of the post-Second World War situation. It was a moment in time when “cynicism, frustration and disillusionment crept into the lives and minds of mankind after witnessing the damages caused by the War” ("Contemporary”). People were pessimistic, bitter and could not appreciate the glorious history, which marked the beginning of the romantic and metaphysical works. Some of the linguistic and stylistic characteristics consisted of free verse, juxtaposition, or combination of ideas and themes and a broad use of classical allusions. Contemporary poet, Nikki Giovanni, is famous for writing in free vers...
Angelou, Maya. "Still I Rise." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013.
In conclusion, the poem “Still I Rise” is “a poem of pride and protest in which the speaker says that despite the history of oppression for African Americans, she will rise.” (Bouchard 1). This poem inspired many and helped to solidify the legacy of Maya Angelou in my honest opinion. I think this because when I think of her works, this poem is the first one that comes to mind because it is so big in the African American community. I think this poem is one of Angelou’s best works. The stern/confident tone and the symbolism of each line makes this poem an instant
This poem is structured within eight stanzas, the first seven stanzas contain four lines within each stanza, however,the last stanza contains fifteen lines, with major emphasis on, “I rise”. The last fifteen lines may have been used to conclude the poem at the end, for one last time show the audience her head held up high. During the poem, the tone throughout is positive and negative, although you may hear the strength and passion in her voice about overcoming these problems, she still presents anger. This allows the reader to experience in sections how Angelou really felt.
She does a great job at using both of the appeals in “Still I Rise”. Maya Angelou was a civil rights activist, an educator, and a poet. Maya Angelou’s constant use of “I” or “my” in her poem is her greatest use of ethos. This poem is her story so she is telling it from experience. For example, when Maya says “Does my sassiness upset you?” (Angelou 5) she draws in the audience by speaking of herself. She lets the audience know that this is a real thing. Another way that Angelou draws in her audience with ethos is when she says “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” (Angelou 39-40) That quote gives Maya Angelou credibility because she knows the hardships of slavery and racism because of her ancestors and culture. The second and most effectively used rhetorical device used is pathos. The entire poem draws in the audience emotionally, even from the first sentence. I believe she was so great at using pathos because it was from her heart. She lived through it, she went through the pain, and she overcame that pain. She was passionate about what she was writing and you could absolutely feel it just by reading it. A great example of pathos and one of my favorite “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.” (Angelou 21-24) Maya’s use of words in this stanza appeals to the audience emotionally. While reading it, you feel like those things are directly happening to you. The other use of pathos that is effective is when she claims that she will rise. It appeals emotionally because it gives the audience hope, strength, and determination that they can rise. The more it’s repeated, the more effective it is. The more you say it, the more that she and the audience believe that it is true. The last example of how this poem appeals emotionally is when she says “Does my
Hence, Maya Angelou “On the Pulse of Morning” landed her worldwide recognition for her creativeness delivering clear rhetoric effectively, prehistoric metaphoric images, and persuasive inspirational concepts to alert her audience to treat the world differently. May I suggest that everyone read her books or listen to her live because in her writings and speeches she expresses her feelings and make people able to visualize what is going on. I am glad that I had the opportunity to view such an event. Truly, I was blessed by the words of Maya Angelou, and I have taken to heart all that she said that evening.
Maya Angelou uses various stylistic devices as she explains the about her graduation that was a pivotal moment in her life. She tells the events of her graduation vividly to her audience such that reading her text is like reliving through her experience.
Maya Angelou uses repetition, figurative language, and includes different examples of different people to convey and illustrate how a person needs someone. In this poem, repetition is continuously used throughout. One of the main characteristics that a reader will recognize about this poem, is that it contains large amounts of repetition of words and phrases. Throughout the poem, Angelou repeats the words "alone" and "nobody" numerous times. In fact, there is a three line stanza that repeats "alone" three times and "nobody" twice (11-13).
Angelou says that she does not have to do anything for the attention she receives, “I don’t shout or jump about, or have to talk real loud” (“Brainyquote”). Angelou is speaking in an assertive, almost sensual tone that portrays her as a woman who is confident and who loves herself. The form the poem is written in is free verse, but is somewhat lyrical. This form is like the poem, using an idiosyncratic and distinctive rhyme scheme, free of some of the familiar elements of poetry, and the expectations placed on her (“Summary and Analysis of Phenomenal woman”). Angelou repeats, “I am a woman, phenomenally” to emphasize her confidence, while using metaphors, such as “They swam around me, A hive of honey bees” to show how men are attracted to her. There is personification in the line where she says, “And the joy in my feet” showing a comparison. In the same way, there is a lot of irony in the poem. Through the poem, Angelou is trying to break normal American beauty standards. For example, Angelou says she loves her hips, which is a thing some women are insecure of. Overall, the theme of the poem is that Angelou believes she is a phenomenal woman who is confident and does not need reassurance. Maya Angelou shows this in her accomplishments and her
Poems are meant to give one an experience or emotion that will have lasting effects on the reader. To create this experience or emotion, authors use poetic devices that give impact to the poem. In the poem Still I Rise by Maya Angelou, she uses the poetic device imagery, repetition, and figurative language to show her feelings of bitterness, but also create the theme of overcoming or rising above. Maya Angelou was an African American poet who grew up in a time when there was a lot of discrimination towards African Americans and especially the African American women. Because of this, she had to deal with a lot of hate and discrimination towards her throughout most of her life.
Maya Angelou, a poet and award-winning author, is highly known for her symbolic and life-experienced stories. In her poem Men, she shows the theme of men domination over women, through her personal struggle. She makes her writing appealing and direct to the reader. With the use of various literary devices (similes, metaphor, imagery, and symbolism), sentence length, and present to past tense it helps the readers understand the overall theme in Men.
Interestingly, towards the end of the poem, Angelou gets deeper into how she feels about her confidence by the way she walks and carries herself. She states, “Now you understand / Just why my head’s not bowed. / I don’t shout or jump about / Or have to talk real loud. / When you see me passing, / It ought to make you proud (Line ). She makes it clear that you do not have to actively seek attention by acting out of character, or trying to be noticed. The amount of self-esteem is determined by the way a woman carries herself. Angelou says, “It’s in the click of my heels, / The bend of my hair, / the palm of my hand, / The need for my care” (Line ). Maya Angelou uses a woman’s body to symbolize the strength, power, and confidence within.
The tone can be confident, proud, complementary, cheerful and sassy. Confident because, in each stanza Maya states some type of criticism that has been said, then overpowers it using her voice to reveal what she thinks. She uses “I say” in every stanza is a cue that she is about to speak her mind. In stanza four she describes her confidence, saying “Now you understand just why my head 's not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing, it ought to make you proud”. The message that she is trying to say is that when she is put down by others, she does not get down or have to attract attention, because of her confidence, she attracts attention when she walks by. Another example, proud because of the several times she uses phenomenal throughout the poem. When she explains why she is a phenomenal woman it sets the tone that she is proud of who he is. Complementary because if reading the poem aloud, it would sound like the reader is complimenting themselves. With Maya Angelou writing all the positive things of being a phenomenal woman, the readers are complimenting themselves of being phenomenal and should be proud of it. Although, the poem may come across as cheerful, when the reader deeply analyzes the poem a serious tone is displayed. Angelou wants the reader to actually feel what she is saying, not just read it as if it has no meaning. This poem shows her strength