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Metaphor analysis essay
Thesis on metaphors
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In this poem, Maya Angelou was able to express one particular poetic device which i was able to identify throughout the poem. Her use of metaphor was mentioned quite often in the poem. When Angelou said “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.” Metaphor is a literary device which is often used in poems to give us a better understanding of how the author is feeling. Metaphor is a figure of speech which is often given to a object or action that cannot literally be done. When Maya Angelou says “ You may cut me with your eyes” this was a example of a type of metaphor because you cannot literally cut someone with your eyes. She is using this device …show more content…
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise” in the first line of this stanza when she says “ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide” i believe whats she is trying to explain is that she feels powerful just like the ocean and she can surfaces the earth feeling capable of defeating all her difficulties. Her use of metaphor was expressed very effectively because it allows us to understand her pain and it also allows us to acknowledge why she is writing this poem. She does not want someones words to break us and wants us to understand that we are in charge of our own happiness. Another poetic device i was able to identify in this poem was Maya Angelou’s use of a simile. Simile is a poetic device that gives us a comparison between one thing to another thing using words between lines such as “like and as.” Just as how i was able to recognize many metaphors in Angelou’s poem, i was also able to seek many different types of smilies. for example; “Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful …show more content…
I believe this is the theme because just by reading the title of her poem; “Still I Rise” i can tell its about a person who has faced many difficulties and has been ridiculed many times throughout her life and instead of giving up she decides to stay strong and continue to stand up even though the world is trying to push her down. Also another reason why i believe the theme of her poem is, “to never give up” because of her history. Maya Angelou is a Black- American who was born in the year of 1928. she has been discriminated throughout her life only being judged by the colour of her skin. Just as how Harriet Tubman was a black- Canadian who helped many slaves through the use of the underground railway as a escape path back to their native land, she has also suffered being discriminated by the use of words and in further cases, being abused. In that era African- American women were treated brutally and were always being pushed down and were not even treated like humans. They never got the respect they deserved and were treated like absolute disgrace just because of the colour of their skin. The theme of Maya Angelou’s poem is very significant because she was born during the generation where black people could not say what they wanted without others reacting with distraught and anger. Just by the title of the poem it tells us that no matter what difficulties we come across in our life we have to manage to stay strong and keep
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
Collective Soul, a 90’s based rock band, and the famously known poet Maya Angelou, have a statement to make on their thoughts and feelings. They are expressed in two different forms of poetry. Maya Angelou express them in contemporary poetry, while the rock group Collective Soul adds rhythm and a impressive beat to their lyrics. Both of these forms of poetry are very strong at getting their point across to their audience that is very attracted to their work. Both Maya Angelou and Collective Soul share the hardships and oppression that has been bestowed upon their life’s, and other human beings. Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise and Collective Soul’s song December, show the effects on an individual through positive and negative means of expression.
In the perspective as an African American woman, Maya Angelou speaks of the issue of sexism in her poem. In this quote, “You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies…”, Angelou sheds light on the problems women faced during her time. Many had to also face the discrimination from men as men control them and put words in women’s mouths. This indicates the doubled amount of burden that African American women had to go through and it was important for Maya Angelou to speak of this issue through literature and give a voice to women who were struggling with the same conflicting situations. In contrast, Hughes’s, “I, Too,” poem states the African American inequality more generally than Angelou’s
Discrimination and prejudice throughout American history has left behind a legacy of oppression towards minorities and women. In spite adversity and harsh circumstances Maya Angelou’s poems “And Still I Rise” and “ Phenomenal Woman” leave the reader with the impression that “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” (Victor Hugo). These optimistic, prideful poems are anthems of strength and overcoming power for minority groups, especially the African American community. Angelou depicts that hardships and struggles are able to strengthen and aid one to conquer any obstacles they may face in life.
This poem is Maya Angelou speaking to the audience as she explains the problems she has overcome such as; racism, sexism, bullying and other problems in her life that she has managed to move on from.This poem is set in a first person narrative, Angelou explains to the audience about the good and bad times within her life, presented in a graceful way. By the poem being set in first person narrative, this allows the audience to connect to the poet on a deeper level because the tone of the poem is more intense throughout, making it more real for the audience. This genre of poetry is lyric poetry, relating to Angelou’s feelings and thoughts throughout the poem, addressing the audience directly.
Ms. Angelou's rhetorical strategy of comparison and contrast serves as effectively as her brilliant, flowing sentences sprinkled with colorful simile and imagery. Poetic phrases describing a voice "like a river diminishing to a stream, and then a trickle" or the audience's conditioned responses as "Amen's and Yes, sir's began to fall around the room like rain through a ragged umbrella" paint vivid images.
Maya Angelou is an internationally respected, brilliant poet, and author. Maya Angelou says "In all my work I try to tell the human truth, what it is like to be human, what makes us stumble and somehow miraculously rise and go on from the darkness and into the light”. This theme is consistently exemplified throughout Angelou's greatly acclaimed poem ‘Still I Rise’. The poem tells the true life story of Maya Angelou's tragedies, and the dreadful conditions she encountered in her youth. But in Angelou's poem, she escapes the night to go into the light, leaving all the hurt and shame to prosper in a new life she has created.
Often times what makes a narrative interesting is the authors ability to tell a story that is so vivid, that we can actually feel the emotions that the characters experienced in the story. It’s not about describing the event that is happening, its about showing it. Instead of writing something for someone to read, a successful author will write things for people to live in and experience, to escape their own reality and live inside a new one. Unlike many authors Maya Angelou was a risk taker, she leaped at the opportunity to move and compel her readers. Maya Angelou’s Champion of the World consists of an alluring introduction, strategic vocabulary, and a wise use of figurative language thus causing a much stronger narrative than Amy Tan’s
Furthermore, Maya Angelou's poem, Still I Rise depicts what is occurs when inequality and discrimination is a factor through the use of repetition and metaphor. Repetition is used in Still I Rise to emphasize the determination and strength of those discriminated against, as variations of the phrase "still I'll rise" (12) are repeated ten times throughout the poem. Still I Rise speaks of the great lengths in which some go to discriminate, and after every one of these scenarios, such as "[you] may kill me with your hatefulness" (23), the speaker states that she will rise; rise above their discrimination and hatred, and continue working towards finding equality. Angelou ends the poem with the words "I rise" (41-3) being repeated three times, proving and
The early 1930’s a time where segregation was still an issue in the United States it was especially hard for a young African American girl who is trying to grow and become an independent woman. At this time, many young girls like Maya Angelou grew up wishing they were a white woman with blond hair and blue eyes. That was just the start of Angelou's problems though. In the autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou goes into great depth about her tragic childhood, from moving around to different houses, and running away and having a child at the age of 16. This shows how Maya overcame many struggles as a young girl.
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.
The use of metaphors are significant in the poem. For example, “As if my life were shaven/ And fitted to a frame,/ And could not breathe without a key:” (13-15), compares her life as if she is suffocating. There is no key to let her out and as if she were trapped inside of a coffin.
Maya Angelou, known for six amazing autobiographies giving her a title of being one of the world's greatest writers. Not only was she a writer, but she's also known of a singer, actress, and civil rights activist. Following Angelou's great accomplishments of the autobiographies, displayed her personal expedition of survival, growth and self-determination as an African-American woman. Maya experienced discrimination and felt disrespected by the way society looked at people like her. Her determination and hunger to change the way the world views African Americans drove her to focus on topics such as motherhood, racism, and being proud of her melanin. She was extremely proud of herself and wanted the world to see it. Never afraid of speaking in public and voicing her opinion, she felt she was speaking out for others that were the victims of discrimination. Which is why she began putting her foot down and taking action, not with violence, but with knowledge and intelligence. Fighting for women to have the same rights as men and not being afraid to do so is what made Maya Angelou the woman she is today, and made African American woman have a voice in the future generations.
Maya Angelou is a very inspiring and courageous woman who says how she feels through her poems without coming off in a hateful manner, but rather a sophisticated and intelligent way. Her poems varies between subjects such as love, passion,racism and the way of life. However, in her poem “Phenomenal Woman” she speaks for all women around the world who doesn’t feel they fit in with today’s society.
Maya Angelou’s word choice in “Phenomenal Woman” is simple and dull, but it fits the poem perfectly once it is read. The words used in the poem are not powerful but it keeps you reading. It makes the readers a have different opinion on the poem. Also it makes the readers analyze what she is really trying to say. For example, in the poem Maya Angelou states “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me. They try so much, But they can’t touch, My inner mystery.” It is a little confusing on what she is trying to say because of her word choice and the way the sentences are connected, but reading furthermore into the stanza, it begins to become more understanding. Then too, If she had used a different word choice the poem would not have been so intriguing. For example, if she would have said “Men don’t really understand my personality”, instead of “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me.” then the readers would not have to put much attention into it and the theme would be completely different. Moreover, another example would be “ It’s the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I’m a woman Phenomenally’’. She uses simple phrases like “fire in my eyes”, “flash of my teeth”, “swing in my waist”, etc. to show the phenomenal woman she is. The word choice that Maya Angelou portrays in this poem, makes woman realize that