What are the fun things in reading poems? Everyone has their own way of enjoying and interpret poems. Reading poems can also be one way to unwind. In addition, poems can lead us to a space of feelings that we have never understood before.

In this article, I would like to appreciate one of the famous and very inspiring poems which created by Maya Angelou with the title "Still I Rise". The poem was published in a collection of poems entitled "And Still I Rise" in 1978 and raised the issue of ethnicity which occurred in the United States. It has also been said by Morris in 2015, in which racism is deeply embedded in various spheres of life in America in the 20th century, "As research for this book proceeded, I was surprised by how deeply racism was embedded in American social science during most of twentieth century.” (Morris 2015:221). The reason why I chose this poem because there have a power and a passion behind the struggle in this poem. And here, I only focus on the word styles which are taken and emphasized on each word in the poem.

Start from the first stanza in which she has a power to countered every false statement which made her worthless.

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.

It is also explain that no matter how bad people say about her, she will rise up.

The second stanza explains in which the author asks the reader in her own tone "sassiness". It is an interesting question in which she emphasized them by asking questions with the word if they were upset about how she felt proud, not broken and sad.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

It also explains the confidence and positive attitude which possessed the author and also proves that she is successful in her life, both in her works and as a woman. "The oil wells pumping in my living room" symbolizes her success.

In the third stanza, the author compares herself to nature to show her determination to rise up.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

We can see the word repitition "Still I'll rise" above to convince the reader that she will rise up.

The fourth stanza tells about the society who see her as a weak person to carry out her struggle.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

This questions was asked by her because she knew that this indeed what many in society wanted. They did not want to see a black woman rise up from the oppressions faced by her.

The fifth stanza, the word "haughtiness" and the sentence "Don't you take it awful hard" are very interesting to explain because they are sarcasm. The word "haughtiness" explain that she knew the hypocrisy of society at that time. While "Don't you take it awful hard" is the way to pretend to care for those who resent her success.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Digging’ in my own backyard.

The sixth stanza explains that she emphasizes that no matter what it does to oppress her, it will not succeed.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

In the seventh stanza, the author continues her questioning of society. And by this time in the poem, the author could place the society on the trial.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

The eight stanza talks about her struggle as a African American person and how she had dealt with them.

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

And in the last stanza, the author tells the reader about what she is leaving behind and all that she has gained through her fighting and perseverance.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou brought significant changes in combating racism, both for the world and for the African Americans themselves. From this poem, we can draw a conclusion so that we continue to struggle to achieve a better life even though people write lies, trample, and look down on us.

That is enough from me. Write down your comment because it is very meaningful for me.

Thank you!