Have you ever been put down, and told you could not succeed? Maybe not in those exact words, but if you read between the lines there they would lay. Think about it, how many people have done that to you and succeeded in putting you down? Sometimes it may be hard, but through everything you will be able to get through it all. One of the greatest poets of our time Maya Angelou demonstrates this very well in her poem "Still I Rise".
“We can at least give them our names,” Jeff insisted Alima, frank soul that she was, asked what good it would do. Terry, always irritating, said it was a sign of possession. Herland p. 118 I found this quote from Herland particularly interesting because it showcases the men’s attitudes compared to the women’s. We get a comparison of how Jeff, Alima, and Terry’s conflicting personalities affect their outlook on marriage and what it means. Jeff wants to give something to the women since they have nothing else to give them.
Marie de France does this to criticize and combat the societal expectations and inherent inequalities in Norman England. The poem begins by Marie immediately introducing and defending herself as a writer. She declares that in her culture, People should praise anyone who wins admiring comments for herself but anywhere there is a man or a woman of great worth, people who envy their good fortune often say evil things about them. (5-10) This introduction reflects the negativity her society has against female writers. Where Marie de France comes from, many people disagree with women having power through literature.
She also uses sound devices (repetition) “That's me.” (assonance) “It's in the click of my heels” and (alliteration) “Pretty women wonder where my secret lies”. The poem was written for the African American woman, suggesting that no one would dare bring her down. Stating all women express their beauty in the way they carry themselves. These aspects are what make a woman phenomenal, rather the physical appearance that many base it on.
• Rhetorical questions directed to the reader. This poem has a very certain seriousness to it, but Angelou brings in her pride as an African American woman and injects playful images into the poem when asking questions. The stanzas that have questions show the direct relationship between the speaker and the audience, Angelou allows the reader to put themselves in the heat of the discussion and in the heart of the poem. The tone is one of sureness and triumphant. • Simile ‘I walk like I’ve got oil wells’ powerful, confident image.
English Literature Mr. A November 1, 2010 Explication The red blossom bends And drips it’s dew to the ground Like a tear it falls The English Canon by Adrienne Su holds a serious tone expressing anger and frustration. The title of the poem doesn’t express symbolism for what the poem is going to be about. The first sentence starts off expressing of the narrators anger growing for the fact that women speakers were left out. The poem shows the pain the narrator went through and the struggles the young woman had. It further expresses the limits that were paced on the women further growth of the pain.
These early years were the subject of her bestselling memoir. Because of her trials and tribulations this woman has a great ability to do the impossible. She has conquered all her goals, and developed a great authority over life. In spite, of all her success she continues to be humble, and find a way to give the greatest reward. She donated her correspondence with America’s great black cultural figures to Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Jesse Smith Close Reading Anna Barbauld’s poem, “The Rights of Woman,” has a controversial debate, describing how women should take over and rule the world. Baurbauld was a poet, a freethinker but she wasn’t considered a feminist. In the poem, Barbauld acknowledges, “But hope not, courted idol of mankind, on this proud eminence secure to stay”(25). Meaning she’s advising women to stand up and play a higher role than men. But in reality she is scared to voice her true goal of the passage.
The last piece of evidence from the painting I would like to point out is that the girl has pride and self importance. She shows it by ignoring what the public does or says to her, she does what she wishes to do, and that is to get educated. She puts her chin up, straight formation, showing that she is strong and ready to take on anything that comes through her path. Overall, the painting shows that the white people are still a dominant race and are being racist to African American people by tormenting them with racial slurs and
Short Critical Essays Title: Still I Rise The poem “Still I Rise” begins with Maya Angelou enthusiastically/proudly saying in the first stanza “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.”, meaning that no matter what hurtful words or rumors being spread or spit at her, their negativity will not put her down. Ms. Angelou used the word choice “trod” to express how people were stepping on her, figuratively, to lower her self esteem and boost themselves up. No matter how hard the people around her wanted her to fall, she stayed strong on her own two feet. In the second stanza “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.”The word “beset” set an angry tone to this part of the poem.