Still I Rise by Maya Angelou literary element and analysis

Analysis

I Rise" is primarily about self-respect and confidence. In the poem, Angelou reveals how she will overcome anything through her self-esteem. She shows how nothing can get her down. She will rise to any occasion and nothing, not even her skin color, will hold her back. Although slavery had been long abolished, Angelou saw its effects on society and the African American people. This poem is her declaration that she, for one, would not allow the hatefulness of society to determine her own success. This poem is not only a proclamation of her own determination to rise above society, but was also a call to others to live above the society in which they were brought up. It is still one of the most widely read poems in America.

Elements

Form and Meter : The poem is written in an A-B-C-B meter, until the last two stanzas when the meter becomes A-B-A-B. Genre

Setting: The setting is not mentioned, but one could assume that it is America in the 1970s after the end of segregation (based on Angelou's life).

Protagonist and Antagonist : The speaker is the protagonist. The antagonist is unspecified, but he is/they are most likely white oppressors (and specifically, white males) who want to condemn her to the pain of her ancestors.