Throughout history, in most cultures, women have often held a position and a voice that is clearly "other" in cultures dominated by men. They have been second class citizens whose needs (medical, political, psychological, spiritual, emotional, etc.) have been simply ignored with the assumption they have no serious needs or position in society aside from wives, mothers, and lovers. They have, in other words, been outsiders in the realm of "mankind" and yet have continuously struggled bravely and strongly to lift their voices in many ways, most especially in literature of many kinds. The following paper examines the voice of this "other" in the poem of Adrienne Rich, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," and the poem of Maya Angelou, "Still I Rise". The poems are examined separately and then compared and contrasted together. "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a very powerful poem which is relatively short but incredibly illustrative in many ways. Through the actions of the woman, that which includes doing needlepoint, the reader knows that she is from a time period wherein this is what women traditionally did in terms of art or leisure activities. Aunt Jennifer represents women all over the world, particularly women in American, who were caught under the oppressive hand of a patriarchal society. The poem begins with a beautiful picture, setting the scene for the dream world of Aunt Jennifer. From the first few lines we know some key facts about the tigers that Jennifer owns. Her tigers have energy. They are free to "prance" and run across the screen (Rich ll.1). The tigers enjoy their environment. The tigers are bright like "topaz" and they inhabit a world that is green (Rich ll.2). Aunt Jennifer's tigers do not fear men. They conduct themselves in a heroic, manly fashion. The tigers that Aunt Jennifer's owns are confident and certain of who they are and what they want. The first stanza serves to explain what the tigers represent, while the second stanza explains who Aunt Jennifer...