"Still I Rise"

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 !loom '"ause I walk like I've !ot oil wells #umpin! in my livin! room. $ust like moons and like suns, With the %ertainty o& tides, $ust like hopes sprin!in! hi!h, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken Bowed head and lowered eyes Shoulders &allin! down like teardrops. Weakened by my soul&ul %ries. Does my hau!htiness o&&end you Don't you take it aw&ul hard '"ause I lau!h like I've !ot !old mines Di!!in' in my own ba%k yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may %ut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hate&ulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my se'iness upset you Does it %ome as a surprise (hat I dan%e like I've !ot diamonds )t the meetin! o& my thi!hs *ut o& the huts o& history's shame I rise +p &rom a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a bla%k o%ean, leapin! and wide, Wellin! and swellin! I bear in the tide. ,eavin! behind ni!hts o& terror and &ear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously %lear

I rise Brin!in! the !i&ts that my an%estors !ave, I am the dream and the hope o& the slave. I rise I rise I rise.

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poetry: Maya Angelous Still I Rise. you may work on discussion questions with a partner. Answer any !R"" questions in paragraph #orm. !ow could you tell that the speaker is an A#rican%American woman& 'e sure to use stan(as $) *) and + to answer this question. -ist the similes to which the poet compares hersel#. .hy do you think she uses these similes& o whom is the poet speaking& 1ote the last two lines o# stan(as ,) 2) and 3. .hat do the last two lines o# each o# these stan(as ha4e in common& .hy do you think the poet uses that particular imagery&

his is a great poem to teach. 5irst) it sounds great when read aloud. hen) look at the imagery. he speaker compares hersel# to all sorts o# natural images 6dust) air) moons) sun) ocean7. .hat do these images ha4e in common& he moon wa8es and wanes) the sun rises and sets) the ocean wa4es rise and #all. !ow does that tie into the speakers conception o# history and the title o# the poem) Still I Rise& !ow a9out dust and air& !ow do these ephemeral images represent the resilience and constancy o# 9lack womens spirit&

Does my sassiness upset you Why are you beset with !loom '"ause I walk like I've !ot oil wells #umpin! in my livin! room. Does my hau!htiness o&&end you Don't you take it aw&ul hard '"ause I lau!h like I've !ot !old mines Di!!in' in my own ba%k yard. Does my se'iness upset you Does it %ome as a surprise (hat I dan%e like I've !ot diamonds )t the meetin! o& my thi!hs
I spent class discussion #ocused on comparing:contrasting stan(as ,) 2) and 3 6a9o4e7. he parallelism should 9e clear. her sassiness is seen in her walk) her haughtiness is e4ident in her laugh) her se8iness is present in her dance and at the meeting o# ;her< thighs.

1ow switch to looking at the spaces in which her positi4e qualities reside: li4ing room) 9ack yard) meeting o# my thighs. .hy not front yard& Its 9ecause these are intensely pri4ate spaces. 1ow look at the third lines o# stan(as ,) 2) and 3. 5irst oil) then gold) then diamonds. hese are all natural resources) listed in increasing 4alue. .hat do these natural resources ha4e in common& hey are hidden 9eneath the earth) hidden #rom sight) and they ha4e to 9e mined in order to 9e disco4ered. he same is true o# 9lack womens natural resources 6the sassiness) haughtiness) and se8iness7. heir qualities are not e4ident to the casual o9ser4er= they are hidden in pri4ate spaces. >ust as people must dig to disco4er the richness o# 9lack women) so must the reader dig to disco4er the hidden richness o# the poem.