Use the annotation chart on the back to look for ...



First, underline the words Dr. Angelou uses to portray of hopelessness, then circle the words she uses to support the idea of rising above adversity. Use the annotation chart on the back to look for personification, metaphor, simile. Discuss how these devices help the reader understand and enjoy the theme and the speaker's tone. As you search for search for similes, metaphors, personification, and allusions, place them in the annotation boxes.

|Still I Rise by: Maya Angelou |

|  |

|  |  |You may write me down in history |

| | |With your bitter, twisted lies, |

| | |You may trod me in the very dirt |

| | |But still, like dust, I'll rise. |

| | | |

| | |Does my sassiness upset you? |

| | |Why are you beset with gloom? |

| | |'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells |

| | |Pumping in my living room. |

| | | |

| | |Just like moons and like suns, |

| | |With the certainty of tides, |

| | |Just like hopes springing high, |

| | |Still I'll rise. |

| | | |

| | |Did you want to see me broken? |

| | |Bowed head and lowered eyes? |

| | |Shoulders falling down like teardrops, |

| | |Weakened by my soulful cries? |

| | | |

| | |Does my haughtiness offend you? |

| | |Don't you take it awful hard |

| | |'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines |

| | |Diggin' in my own backyard. |

| | | |

| | |You may shoot me with your words, |

| | |You may cut me with your eyes, |

| | |You may kill me with your hatefulness, |

| | |But still, like air, I'll rise. |

| | | |

| | |Does my sexiness upset you? |

| | |Does it come as a surprise |

| | |That I dance like I've got diamonds |

| | |At the meeting of my thighs? |

| | | |

| | |Out of the huts of history's shame |

| | |I rise |

| | |Up from a past that's rooted in pain |

| | |I rise |

| | |I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, |

| | |Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. |

| | | |

| | |Leaving behind nights of terror and fear |

| | |I rise |

| | |Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear |

| | |I rise |

| | |Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, |

| | |I am the dream and the hope of the slave. |

| | |I rise |

| | |I rise |

| | |I rise. |

Annotation Chart

|Similes |metaphors |personification |Explanation |

|a figure of speech involving the comparison |a figure of speech in which a word or|Personification is when you assign the | |

|of one thing with another thing of a |phrase is applied to an object or |qualities of a person to something that | |

|different kind, used to make a description |action to which it is not literally |isn't human or, in some cases, to | |

|more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a |applicable |something that isn't even alive. | |

|lion, crazy like a fox ). | | | |

|But still, like dust, I’ll rise |Bringing the gifts that my ancestors |You may write me down in history with your|Similes: |

| |gave |bitter, twisted lies. |Angelou's use of simile deepens the |

| | | |meaning of the poem by giving the |

|'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells | | |reader a tangible connection |

| | | |Example: |

|Just like moons and like suns  | | |She continuously raises herself up to |

| | | |stay strong, like how the moon and the |

| | | |sun rises everyday |

|That I dance like I've got diamonds | That I dance like I've got diamonds |Weakened by my soulful cries | |

| | | |Metaphor: |

| | | |She is worth just as much as everyone |

| | | |else and therefore she should receive |

| | | |just as much respect |

|Shoulders falling down like teardrops |You may shoot me with your words, |Past rooted in pain | |

|But still I rise, like air, I’ll rise. |‘ |You may shoot me with your words, | Personification of words shoot, cut |

| | |You may cut me with your eyes, |and kill. |

| | |You may kill me with your hatefulness, |- "Shoot, cut and kill" relate to the |

| | | |"painful history" - reality - effect |

| | | |emotion |

| | | |- Shoot, cut and kill - weapons (gun) -|

| | | |racial prejudice towards African |

| | | |Americans |

| | | |- "You" - pronoun (relating to the |

| | | |oppressor) |

|Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll | | | |

|rise. | | | |

Study Questions for Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise:"

1. What is the overall tone of the poem?  Give examples from the text of the poem.  What do you think Angelou is trying to accomplish with her poem?

Overall Tone-Confident, optimistic, strong, undaunted

Example of the Tone: You may kill me with your hatefulness, but still like air, I rise

She is trying to say that no matter what your situation is, there is always hope.

2. Who is “you” in the poem; that is, “who” is the poet addressing?  Why is she addressing this “you”?

• She is addressing those individuals within society who are oppressing any African-American/Canadian person.

• She addressing the reader to be the change because it up to us to make the change we want to see in the world.

• Each of us can rise above our problems, pain, or sorrow. No matter our situation or race.

3. To what does Angelou compare her hope?  Draw some conclusions from this comparison.

• She compares moons and suns to hope. Hence, hope will always rise just like the moon and sun rise each day.

4. What are he “huts of history?”  Why must the poet “rise” out of these “huts?”

• She is referring to slave housing on plantations in the South before the Civil War

• She must rise to get out of the oppression of the past

5. The poet mentions that she’s got (at least) three things that she considers very valuable—things, not character or personality traits.  What are they; what are their significance and meaning?

i. The gifts her ancestors gave

ii.

6. Why is the poet like “air”?

• She will always rise above any conflict or problem just like air.

7. Notice the parallelism between the lines of stanza six (“you”, “you”, “you”) and stanza nine (“I”, “I”, “I”)—what is the significance of “you” and “I” in this poem? Why is she emphasizing it?

• YOU=OPPRESSOR

• I=Heroine

• You may try to keep her down, but she will take what her ancestors fought for and continue to work towards change.

• In addition, “I” can rise above anything myself.

8. What is the meaning of her first line: “You may write me down in history/with your bitter, twisted lies”?

• History is often written by those who are charge or the victors. She is trying to say that now what is written, her truth is all that matters.

9. Why is this an inspiring poem?

• This poem is inspiring because it emphasizes the hardships Maya must have faced, but she continues to make it clear that she will not take for granted what her ancestors sacrificed and continue to fight for her right to belong.

10. After reading this poem which stanza is most powerful? Rewrite it below and use it as a source of inspiration when you feel down or bullied.

• I find stanza 6 to be the most effective because it shows how Maya will not stand down for what she knows is right.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Crossroads

Question #1

A. A memoir is different than a formal written piece because it uses 1st person perspective and discusses the writers personal thoughts and experiences. Formal written pieces uses 3rd person perspective, refers to other individuals experiences.

Davis may have chosen this format in order for the reader to feel what the writer experienced with more vivid words that describe his anguish.

B. Dondre went with school team to play golf at the Caldwell Parish Country Club and he was told he was not allowed to be there since the club was reserved for whites only. Either Dondre did not play or his team would forfeit. His teammates decided to leave.

Davis was told he could not go to Glen Echo Amusement park because he was black. Davis’ Grade Eight classmates decided not to go to the park if he could not go too.

Impact:

Dondre- The whole state was outraged and created a Dondre Green Day

Legislation permitting lawsuits for damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs against any

private facility that invites a team and bars any member because of race.

Davis- The love that was shown to Davis the day that his teammates stood up for him will live with him

forever because that kind of love conquers hatred every time.

C. They were both surprised because they thought that their teammates and classmates would conform to the norms of society, but instead they stood up against the ignorance of their time.

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