Poem Analysis:

1.
If you
analyzed
this:

Then, you
will now
analyze
this:

1. St
itches
by
Shawn
Mende
s

1. H
ow Do I
Love
Thee?
(Sonne
t 43)
by
Elizabe
th
Barrett
Browni
ng

2. S
kyscra
per by
Demi
Lovato

2. St
ill I
Rise
by
Maya
Angelo
u

3. W
ings
by
Mackle
more

3. Bl
ack
Friday
by
Kevin

Leake
2. Paste the lyrics of your new poem below:
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, Ill rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
Cause I walk like Ive 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 Ill 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?
Dont you take it awful hard
Cause I laugh like Ive 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, Ill rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like Ive got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of historys shame
I rise
Up from a past thats rooted in pain
I rise
Im 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 thats 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.

Questions
3. Describe the structure of the poem
(How many lines are there? How
many stanzas? What is the rhyme
scheme?)

Answers
Use complete sentences!
3. There are 8 stanzas and 46 lines.
4. The intended audience are people who

4. Who is the intended audience?

5. Describe what the speaker is like.
6. What is the name of the poet?
7. What is the poems rhyme scheme?
8. Does the poet use alliteration? If so,
give an example.
9. Does the poet use consonance? If
so, give an example.
10. Does the poet use assonance? If
so, give an example.
11. Does the poem use diction with
positive or negative connotations?
Give some examples.
12. What kind of tone does the author
use? Give an example of a line
that illustrates this tone.
13. What kind of mood do you feel as
a reader? Give an example of a
line that illustrates this mood.
14. What is a theme that you noticed
in the poem? Use evidence to
support your theme.

are strong willed and rise above the

insults of others.
5. The speaker feels strong against the
insults and hateful emotions that are
thrown against them.
6. The poet is Maya Angelou
7. The poem has very little rhyme
scheme, except for the first stanza.
8. The poem does not have alliteration.
9. I do not think there is consonance in
this poem.
10. No, I do not think there is assonance
in this poem.
11. The diction of this poem create
positive connotations as the speaker
appears to be fending off jealous and
hateful comments with their positive
attitude. An example is, You may write

me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, Ill rise.
12. The tone is the same as the
connotation; the speaker has a positive
attitude against hateful comments. An
example is 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, Ill rise.
13. I feel positive after reading this poem.
It is nice that the speaker does not feel
completely phased by people not liking
them and they can still rise with
positivity. An example would be, Does my

haughtiness offend you?

Dont you take it awful hard

Cause I laugh like Ive got gold mines
Diggin in my own backyard.
14. A theme of this poem is to not be
devastated by peoples hateful comments
towards you. Always be yourself and
ignore haters. An example would be, You

may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, Ill rise.