In the first lines of ‘On Aging’ the speaker begins by telling the reader

that there is no need for them to come up and talk to her when she’s
sitting quietly. Just because she’s quiet, doesn’t mean she needs
company. The same request is applied later on in the poem. If she’s
struggling to get upstairs, don’t pity her and bring her a rocking chair.

She doesn’t want to be treated any differently than when she was
young. In fact, she states, she knows she’s the same person she’s
always been even though there are a few physical changes The poem
concludes with the speaker noting her physical changes but at the
same time feeling grateful that she can still breathe at all.

Poetic Techniques in On Aging

‘On Aging’ by Maya Angelou is a single stanza poem made up of
twenty lines. These lines follow a changing rhyme scheme. Some
endings, such as “-ing,” is repeated throughout the text (lines 3, 9, 13)
while others are used more frequently, but are just as variable. An
example of the latter can be seen through the words “quietly,” “me,”
and “sympathy” in lines one, five, and six and “lazy” in line fifteen. Or,
in the last few lines, there are the pairings of “then” and “chin” and
“wind” “in”.

Repetition is one of the many techniques Angelou uses in ‘On

Aging’. It can be seen through the use and reuse of other techniques,
such as figurative language, or of a word or phrase itself. For instance,
“Hold! Stop!” in lines five and six. This is also an example
of anaphora or the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of
multiple lines, usually in succession.
Another example presents itself at the end of the poem in line
eighteen with “A little less hair, a little less chin”. Plus, in general, the
larger themes of this text, those of aging and aging with grace and
strength, are repeated throughout.

Angelou also makes use of alliteration. It occurs when words are used
in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the
same letter. For example, “lot less lungs” and “less” in line nineteen, or,
“sitting,” “sack” and “shelf” in lines one and two.

On Aging Analysis
Lines 1-6
When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
(…)
Hold! Stop! Don’t pity me!
Hold! Stop your sympathy!
In the first lines of ‘On Aging,’ the speaker takes on the
confident tone that’s seen throughout the poem. She directs her
words at whoever needs to hear them, telling the reader and anyone
else, that if she’s seen “sitting quietly” there’s no need to talk. The
speaker isn’t in need of constant company just because she’s quiet.
She is the speaker states, “listening to [herself]”. In the second line, she
makes use of a simile to compare herself to “a sack left on the shelf”.
In this comparison, she is lifeless and completely still. There is nothing
wrong with her, she contests, she is choosing to stay still and silent.

There are several impactful exclamations in lines five and six. The
speaker tells the reader, very forcefully, that she doesn’t need pity or
sympathy. Just because she’s old doesn’t mean she’s unhappy or
suffering. One’s good wishes aren’t interpreted kindly, but rather as
slander against who she is now. This becomes all the more important
as the speaker declares that she’s the same person she was when she
was young, just in a body that’s transforming.

Lines 7-11
Understanding if you got it,
(…)
I will only ask one favor:
One thing she might accept is “Understanding”. If an onlooker, friend,
or family member is willing to speak to her on even ground,
respectfully, she will accept that. Otherwise, she can “do without it!”
Advice and pity are very unwelcome.

In what seems like a surprising statement, (although not in

the context of this poem) the speaker tells the reader not to bring her
a rocking chair if she’s moving slowly. She knows she might have
trouble climbing the stairs but she doesn’t want people fawning over
her and trying to help. The only favour she wants is to be left alone.

A reader should take note of the diction in these lines and the
ungrammatical phrase, “Don’t bring me no rocking chair”. This brings
out the speaker’s personality and gives the entire poem a ring of truth.
Additionally, informal diction and dialect can provide a reader with
additional information about where a speaker is from.
Lines 12-20
Don’t bring me no rocking chair.
When you see me walking, stumbling,
(…)
A lot less lungs and much less wind.
But ain’t I lucky I can still breathe in.
In the last lines of ‘On Aging,’ she reiterates most of what she said
before. Specifically, if she is struggling, to leave her alone. The speaker
presents a situation in which she is “walking, stumbling”. If this
happens, “Don’t study and get it wrong”. Rather, one should consider
who she is, who she’s always been, and treat her accordingly. She’s the
“same person [she] was back then”. There are a few physical changes
she’s willing to accept.

These include her head having “little less hair” and her face, “less chin”.
At the same time, she notes that her lungs take in “less” air. As well as
not having the capacity to exert herself as she used to. She has “less
wind”. An interesting inversion occurs in lines eighteen and nineteen
with the use of “A little less” and “A lot less” at the beginning of both
lines.

Despite the things that have gone wrong with her body, she knows
she’s lucky she can “still breathe in”.