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Michal King

Mrs. Taylor

Ap Literature and Composition

26 February 2021

The Hill We Climb

From the beginning to the end of the poem, Gorman uses images of light and darkness,

hope and fear, to describe the two opposing sides of America, those who want to divide and

those who want to unify. Her image of the country is not one that’s defeated or failed, but one

that’s still on its way to being what its rhetoric already suggests it is. The speaker’s attitude

towards America is hopeful in spite of the hardships of past years, she seeks to inspire hope in

those listening that a better day is dawning and that better times are ahead. In the concluding

sections, the poet asks that “we,” American citizens and anyone listening to her read, be brave

enough to “see” and “be” the light/hope that’s coming. 

Throughout the poem, Gorman uses multiple literary devices, especially allusion in order

to get her point across to a wider audience. It is one of the most important devices in the poem.

In this piece, she alludes to the struggles America, and the world, faced in 2020, as well as the

broader issues associated with the Trump presidency and the longer history of the country. In the

first lines of “The Hill We Climb,” the speaker begins by making a few powerful statements

about what “we’ve learned.” The “we” she uses throughout the poem refers to the American

people, and more broadly the citizens of the contemporary world. She alludes to dark moments

in our recent history, using “shade” as a symbol for them. There are losses, a sea to “wade” and

many horrors in the past, represented by the “belly of the beast.”  These lines refer to everything

from economic and racial injustice to the Coronavirus and the more recent unrest in the United
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States in the years of the Trump administration. She also alludes to herself as “the skinny black

girl / descended from slaves and raised by a single mother.” She concludes this phrase by

describing herself in that very moment—reciting a poem she wrote for a president. 

The examples of alliteration throughout the piece work together to give rhythm to a poem

that has no clear metrical pattern. For example, “cultures, colors, characters and / conditions.”

Another example follows with “future first.” In the later lines, there is another good example of

repetition, specifically, anaphora. It occurs when the same word or words are used at the

beginning of lines. In this case, “that even as we.” The poet asks everyone listening who supports

the newly inaugurated president and those who do not, to “lay down our arms / so we can reach

out our arms.” By using “arms” to describe weapons and one’s physical arms, she’s attempting

to draw in the divide between these two sides. In this phrase, “we tried / That we’ll forever be

tied together,” the poet is again alluding to the difficulties of the previous year and the suffering,

physical, mental, and emotional, and how it should bring everyone who suffered together. 

The symbol of the hill is at the heart of Gorman’s inaugural poem. It features in the title

and is part of every line she recited at Joe Biden’s inauguration. It symbolizes the hill that the

United States is currently climbing, socially and politically, and how far the country still has to

go before it reaches the top of the hill. “The Hill We Climb” mentions, as other inaugural poets

have described before hers, that America is not a perfect country. It might arrive there

eventually, but for now, everyone has to work together to ensure the country gets where it needs

to be, a place of harmony where all people are valued and taken care of.

Using the shared experiences of living in America, Gorman is able to bring the people of

the country together. Unity is the final goal that “The Hill We Climb” advocates for. Eventually,
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Gorman suggests, America will be able to come together as one people. Different races and

religions will be accepted and celebrated for their individuality rather than singled out for it.