1.

At the beginning of the poem the writer shows sadness and bitterness because the
black community was written down as being bad. She feels empathy and is full of
sorrow for all the black people that were treathed as slaves in hystory.

"Still I Rise" is about self-respect and self-confidence. The writer writes about how she
can overcome everything through her self-esteem. She writes about how nothing can
get her down. She can rise through anything without her skin color pulling her down.

The name of this poem, ‘Still I Rise’ is fighting back against the people that try to run
over the author’s voice. She is representing the black community. In this poem, she is
fighting against the people trying to shut her up. "I rise” is a collective voice of many
people that were unfairly treated who are fighting back. Even though black people were
treated extremely discriminatory, they can't be stopped and can fight back.

This poet is about injustice and self-empowerment. In this poem, the author talks about
the oppression she experienced. She uses the word “you” to refer to all the injustice that
people of color have experienced through history. The author proudly represents
herself. She wants to motivate those who doubted they were any good.

The poet has a lot of vivid imagery. “But still, like dust, I’ll rise.” The word “dust” helps
the author to make her point. She will rise like dust and won't be controlled by the
people trying to oppress her. The author begins the lines with a question. She calls out
the people that approved of the discrimination against the black community “Did you
want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?” “Does my haughtiness offend
you?” She wants an explanation for the discrimination. With every line, she calls out a
different type of mistreatment. As the poem continues it becomes clear that the
discrimination was because of the resilience and strength of black people. We see this
as the author compares the spirit of black people to rich resources “That I dance like
I’ve got diamonds” “‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines” “Cause I walk like I’ve got oil
wells Pumping in my living room.” The author asks why it is the strength and spirit of
black people that make others want to break them. The author also portrays the ultimate
strength of black people as keeping on rising up. She portrays black people as never
giving up even with all the discrimination.
At the end of the poem the most repeated phrase “I’ll rise” becomes “I rise, changing
from fighting for her cause to completing it.