The poem “Still I Rise” is about the poet herself, Maya Angelou. She
is writing about how no one can ever bring her down no matter what she
does. She will continue doing what she likes and being who she is no
matter what anyone thinks about it. Maya has famously said, in an
interview “If you don’t like something change it. If you can’t change
it, change your attitude.” In the poem, she also is referring to
racism. In the second last verse, it says: “Out of the huts of
history's shame
I rise
up/ From a past that's rooted in pain
I rise”
This means that she comes from her ancestor’s huts in Africa, and even
though she lives in the US, it represents what she and her ancestors
have been through by fighting for their rights.
In the poem it also says “You may shoot me with your words,/You may
cut me with yours eyes,/You may kill me with your hatefulness,/But
still, like air, I’ll rise. That would be an example of this. A
literacy device that is being used here is a hyperbole. The poet uses
hyperbole because although it talks about being shot, in reality a
person cannot shoot anyone with their words. As well it says you may
cut me with your eyes. One can give people dirty looks and stare them
down but there is no way to cut anyone with your eyes. The reason the
author used this technique is because she is writing about how angry
she is about people trying to put her down. “That I dance like I've
got diamonds,/
At the meeting of my thighs” this is a metaphor. She is
talking about how every part of her is special. Although people may
treat her as though she’s not important, she knows deep down that she
is.
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