Paper short abstract:

This paper presents a reading of Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise" in which the ‎speaker affirms her determination to release herself and her fellow black people from ‎the cage of racism and despotism. To gain inspiration, the speaker identifies herself with her ancestors' history and African past.

Paper long abstract:

The main aim of this paper is to present a reading of Maya Angelou's poem "Still I ‎Rise" in which the poet confidently resists oppression and affirms her determination to ‎release herself and her fellow black people from the cage of racism and despotism."Still I Rise" is an inspiring poem about ‎the struggle to stand against bigotry and domination. When read by the victims of ‎oppression and wrongdoing, the poem turns into a kind of anthem, a glimpse of hope ‎for the subjugated and downtrodden everywhere. For the theoretical framework of ‎the paper, the researcher will draw on racism and the oppression of black people ‎throughout history, together with highlighting the role played by Angelou as a civil ‎rights activist. The speaker ‎determinedly declares to her oppressor that despite his dishonest attempts ‎to disfigure the history of her people and belittle her position as black woman, she ‎will not give up. Quite the opposite, the oppressed victim will 'stil...rise' ‎‎'and rebel until she can reach the safe shores of liberty and can therefore express herself as a free bird singing for freedom and justice. Her state of ‎rising, this time, is like 'air', something which the oppressor cannot 'shoot', 'cut, or 'kill', ‎as Angelou states in the poem'. To gain empowerment and inspiration, the speaker in ‎‎"Still I Rise" resorts to her African past, proudly identifying herself with her ancestors' ‎history and tightly sticking to her African roots that generously provide her with ‎pride, strength, and encouragement. ‎