VENANDA PUTRI UTAMI – 181010650065 – 05SIGM001

THE ANALYSIS OF STILL I RISE BY MAYA ANGELOU.

The denotation of this poem is "I'm a black ocean" refers singularly and simply to the black race
as a whole. “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” Refers to the dream and hope itself aa the
true meaning.

The connotation of this is "I'm a black ocean" because the writer trues to describe the word not
literally an ocean, but the writer shares some of the same characteristics. Like an ocean women is
ever moving; nothing can stop us. Futhermore “I am the dream and the hope of the slave.” this
because the writer tries to describe that she is the hope and dream everyone hanging of, like she is
the pioneer or role mode that everyone wish to be.

Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five sense like “You may write
me down in history” the writer tries emphasize the word “write” as a visualizes the feeling of the
oppressors and how the Writer reacts to the statement. “I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide.” The
speakers tries to proves her act and attitude towards the judgement with the word “leaping and
wide” as a visualize how wide the writer’s feeling is. “You may shoot me with your words” The
writer implies the word “shoot” to visualizes the feeling of the writer towards the act of the
oppressors.

Figurative language :

1. Simile :

"But still, like air, I'll rise"

No matter what the speaker's oppressors do to harm her, the writer will rise above the
challenges, just as air rises.

“But still, like dust, I'll rise"

As in the air simile, the writer will rise above the pain her oppressors try to inflict, just as
dust rises in the air.

"I walk like I've got oil wells"

The writer is so confident in her demeanor that she walks with a swagger that suggests the
wealth of a person who has struck oil.
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"Just like moons and like suns"

The writer compares the certainty of her courage and persistent determination to the
certainty and repetitive patterns of the lunar and solar cycles.

"I laugh like I've got gold mines"

2. Metaphor :

“may trod me in the very dirt"

The speaker states that even if her oppressor tries to trample on her as one might trample an object
or living creature in the dirt, she will still rise. The speaker is not literally squashed by the
oppressor, but the oppressor nonetheless tries to trample on her spirit.

"You may shoot me with your words"

The writer refers to the violence of shooting with a gun, but she uses the metaphor to illustrate
instead the pain of her oppressor's hateful language. She will not be pierced by the harshness of
his words.

"You may cut me with your eyes"

The writer refers to violence again, this time using the example of cutting, as with a knife.
However, she refers to the oppressor's cruel looks as so painful and hurtful that his regard is sharp
and cutting, like a knife.

"You may kill me with your hatefulness"

The oppressor's hatefulness could literally kill her, but in this line the writer speaks of death
metaphorically. The oppressor's hate toward her might kill her spirit, but she will still rise above
the pain.

"I'm a black ocean"

The writer refers to herself as a powerful force of nature. She is as strong and as majestic as the
ocean, and the term "black" denotes her race. She is a powerful black woman.
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"I am the dream and the hope of the slave"

The writer embodies the hopes and dreams of her slave ancestors. She wants to achieve all that
they were unable to do.

3. Metonymy :

"History's shame"

This figure stands in for all those who conducted the slave trade and those who implemented
policies that kept down certain elements of society by both gender and race.

4. Personification

“History's shame"

Personifies history and gives it the attribute of feeling an emotion like shame.

The writer laughs with the confidence of someone who is wealthy, as if gold has been discovered
in her own backyard. She may not be wealthy in a financial sense, but she possesses a great wealth
of spirit and hope.

“Shoulders falling down like teardrops"

The writer refers to being sad to the point that one's shoulders droop d own or collapse, just as tears
fall.

"Dance like I've got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs"

The writer dances sensually and possesses a wealth of spirit, rather than financial wealth. The
diamonds represent wealth, luxury, and status, like that of a queen. She is a black queen, and the
placement of diamonds between the legs suggests a sexual connotation.

In "Still I Rise," Angelou uses the literary devices of apostrophe, anaphora, repetition, end rhyme,
simile, metaphor, imagery, and alliteration. Maya Angelous's "Still I Rise" uses a number of
literary devices to build an assertive, defiant, and triumphant tone in her poem.

The speaker uses apostrophe, which is a direct address to an absent person, object, or concept. In
this case, the speaker talks to a "you," which is the white culture that has tried to keep Black people
down. This direct address helps energize the speaker and make her voice more vehement.
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Anaphora, or the device of repeating the same words at the beginning of consecutive lines of verse,
adds a sense of religious litany to the poem: for example, in stanza six, the speaker repeats "You
may" at the beginning of three of the four lines.

The speaker also employs repetition, which amplifies and emphasizes certain points. For example,
she repeats the words "I rise" several times throughout the poem. The poem then lifts to a crescendo
at the end with the repetition of "I rise" three times.

A rhyme scheme in which Angelou uses rhyming words at the end of the second and fourth lines
of each stanza adds a sense of structure to the poem.

The poem makes use imagery, which is description using any of the five senses. For example, we
can see in our mind's eyes the "bowed head and lowered eyes" that the speaker rejects.

Angelou creates a sense of rhythm with alliteration, which means placing words that begin with
the same consonant in close proximity. For example, the d sound is alliterative in "I dance like I've
got diamonds" and the h sound in "the huts of history’s shame."

Themes in “Still I Rise” is courage, pride, and injustice are some of the major themes crafted in
the poem. The poet speaks about the biting criticism of dark skin in society. Also, she details how
people want to kill them with hatefulness. But, the speaker is really proud of her identity, which
she expresses in various ways in the text. She openly challenges those who want to hold her down.
Instead of wallowing in stress and fear, she aims to live a happy and confident life.
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