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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. ‎