WGU UXT Task 1

WGU UXT Task 1

“Still I Rise”
Maya Angelou

I could tell right away from the poem’s description, imagery, and repetition that she was directing her thoughts towards someone who was trying to hurt her. “Still I Rise” and “I rise” were her saying over and over you can keep trying to put me down but I’m going to keep getting up. She portrays a strong woman with supreme attitude and stresses that the person didn’t like her how she was. She identifies that she has a strong attitude with words like “sassiness”, “haughtiness” and “sexiness”. Her self-described attitude can be compared to today’s reference of a “Diva”.
I am interested in her strength in an era where the woman’s movement was just beginning. She was so far ahead of her time and willing to talk about it. I can tell in her words that she has been brought down in the past by this person. She describes being shot down by their words, being glared at and having hate directed at her. She keeps telling the other person that I will not let you bring me down and every time you do, I will get stronger and stronger. She references that she creates waves like the moon and the sun, that she is challenging and the other person doesn’t like it. She felt the other person was trying to break her down and be dominating but she was a strong woman and would not let that happen. In the end, she says she is leaving all her negatives in the past and focusing on the future. She is a wanted person and she has pride.
Maya Angelou was an author and poet. Still I rise was published in 1978. It was Maya Angelou’s third volume of poetry. She had previously written three autobiographies along with her two volumes of poetry. “And Still I rise” is a collection of thirty-two short poems that are divided in three parts. It focuses on the ability to overcome adversity and the challenges that others inflict upon you. She uses these same themes in her autobiographies and other poems. She speaks of her race and gender in many of her...

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