Still I Rise - A Feminist Analysis

 Submitted to: Venerable Prof. Muhammad Saeed

 By : Sohail Imran Khan
 Roll NO: MPEN-021R20P-21
 Semester : M.Phil English (First Semester)

Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan

There are many women for who have done remarkable services for the
cause of feminism but there is one name that shines like bright star on the
sky & that name is Maya Angelou. Throughout her life, she struggled for
the rights of black African-American women.

She was a poet, actress, singer, dancer, writer, journalist and the first
black female director in Hollywood. She also wrote seven
autobiographies. Her life has been a benchmark for women rights
archivists all around the world.

Her poem "Still I Rise" is one of the most celebrated, most read & most
recited poem. It serves as an anthem for women empowerment and a
reminder that women are amazing, no less than men & capable of
achieving anything they want.

A cry for insubordination

This poem has become true hymn for the African American women. It is
a cry for insubordination, a breath of air and, at the same time, a strong
voice in favor of the resistance. She says:

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.
Her spirit does not decline despite the obstacles to which she is subjected,
because there is always laughter and happiness in the face of injustices.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

It is a poem that speaks to the macho, the xenophobic, the homophobic

and the oppressor. Throughout the poem, she flaunts her womanhood &
questions the retrograde ideologies of male dominated society. Her words,
every question in this poem comes out as a cry of utter rebellion.

You can shoot me with your words

you can hurt me with your eyes
you can kill me with your hatred,
and still, like air, I get up.
"That " and still I get up "

Autobiographic Elements
There are autobiographic elements in Maya Angelou. poem. When she
was just 7 years old, she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend.
She told her family & the man was arrested only for a few days. When he
came out of jail, Maya Angelou. uncle killed the man & surrendered
himself to the police. These vents shocked Angelou. She stopped talking
& didn't speak to anyone for five years. From the memory of those years
of horror, she has written the fierce poems like this one.

A Feminist Manifesto

These lines in her poem appear as a declaration of independence &

self-determination for women. It is a poem that runs through history, that
talks about social injustices done to the women and that calls for people
to change their attitude towards women.
This poem is a call to celebrate the women empowerment. It shakes the
very foundations of patriarchy and calls for a world where women are not
subjugated by men. It invites women to live their live on their terms,
without asking anyone for validation.