Poem Analysis of Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was an American poet, activist, and writer famous for leaving people with strong feelings and emotions. Through her use of similes, multiple rhetorical questions, and repetition in the poem, “Still I Rise,” Maya Angelou conveys her powerful message of prejudice, courage, passion, and pride by bringing strong emotions and by emphasizing her self-worth as she battles negative jaundice against her race that a specific person seems to have against her. 
She starts her poem by bringing up a big part of everyone that is history. She expresses her anger towards the person that seems to be defaming the author negatively as the person uses lies to try to bring her down. Confidently, the author does not give in and dares the person to keep talking as she believes in herself and her power. This logically emphasizes her point of how strong she feels about herself. The author uses repetition of the phrase “You may” to go against the person’s thoughts about herself and convey her message of courage while not backing down. 
Angelou then moves to ask why certain aspects of her attributes upset the person; why is she troubled by the author’s attitude. The author uses these rhetorical questions to bring out her point of courage by asking the person why she is so bothered towards her to convey how prejudiced a person can be. She then responds to her question by bringing up her own wealth and personal growth. She uses a simile to describe her walk as her having “oil wells” that are growing by the minute. This brings a strong emotion of empowerment to the author. By describing her own self-worth and determination to stay positive about herself, the author conveys her message of courage and pride while also confidently showing her good attributes to the person that thinks otherwise. 
Coupled with her use of simile, she continues to add more affirming comparisons to her persona. She compares herself to the moon and sun. The author uses the moon and the sun to bring importance to herself and to point her idea of pride as she, just like the sun and moon, shines. Angelou also adds that with the “certainty of tides” she will also be guided to a better tomorrow. This helps convey her message of courage and pride, by giving herself powerful attributes that will overcome the person's prejudice emphasizing her own power and self-knowledge. She finally ends her sentence by also comparing herself to high hopes. This is a powerful phrase as she is explaining how she will not let anyone throw her under the dirt. Instead, she will rise and persevere against the person’s ill intentions. 
Uniquely, the author does not stop there and continues her strong poem by once more asking the person different rhetorical questions. She asks the person why she feels so ill towards her; so much that she has to see her broken on the ground. Filled with inferiority while looking at the ground. The person’s negative opinions help convey the author's message of prejudice against herself and her race. Angelou then goes on to answer her question by describing how the person might think she is going to respond to her ill intentions. She uses another simile comparing her shoulders to “tears.” She humorously responds to her question in a taunting way as she describes how the person wants to see her so “weakened” by her “cries.” This helps convey her idea of pride and courage as she battles the person’s prejudice. 
Furthermore, she keeps asking even more rhetorical questions to keep taunting the person’s ideas of how she should be feeling about herself. The author questions why her superiority and arrogance offends the person. Then she once more humorously responds by bringing out her good and powerful attributes by using similes. She compares her laugh to her having “gold mines” digging in her backyard. Angelou keeps bringing her wealth and self-worth by comparing herself to riches and as something that people feel envious too. She keeps giving the person more and more examples of how successful and how proud she is of her attributes. This conveys her idea of pride and passion as she diminishes the person’s unpleasant thoughts. 
The author brings a big train of emotions to combat against the person. She brings her daring and ardent emotions to emphasize her disagreement with the other person. While still reassuring herself of how powerful she can and will be against other ideas about her.  With her repetition of the phrase “You may,” she brings out once more her message of courage and passion while not backing down. Even if it means being badmouthed, criticized, or killed. She ends the second part of the poem by bringing up how she will rise. And just like air, she will keep on rising even higher. She uses repetition and her comparison to air to convey her idea of passion while battling with a person that wishes her only the worst until death. 
Identically as many times before, the author keeps using rhetorical questions to emphasize her point about her power and self-worth. She now asks the person if her sexiness upsets her. It seems that the author is trying to not only make herself powerful but also change the attitude of the person by making them jealous. Next, she changes from her question and uses a simile to compare another trait that the person seems to have negative thoughts about. She compares her dance as one filled with “diamonds” that reach until her thighs. Angelou is letting the person know that what the person is feeling is jealousy because of her dance and her riches that have people looking twice. Her rhetorical questions and simile help convey her message of courage and pride as she turns the person’s jaundice into  strength of her own. 
Finally, the author is ready to share her last thoughts of empowerment and passion. She describes that out of the shame created by history; “I rise.” How from a past that was created in deep pain; “I rise.” She compares herself to a “black ocean” that is big and wide. Leaving behind the nightmares and fears; “ I rise.” Sharing the many gifts that her ancestors left her and by being the dream and hope of many others; “I rise,” “I rise,” “I rise.” By using the repetition of the word “I rise” Angelou is confident and determined that even though her past might bring her down, even though the ocean of prejudice might tire her down, she will not give up. She consistently tells the person that she will rise as she has her ancestors' gift and is filled with the dreams and hopes of others. This helps deliver her message of courage and passion as she does not back down and gives a final warning to the other person that she will rise. 
Thus, in “ Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, the author brings us a powerful poem filled with strong emotions. Through her use of similes, multiple rhetorical questions, and repetition, Angelou conveys her powerful message of prejudice, courage, passion, and pride by bringing strong emotions and by emphasizing her self-worth as she battles negative jaundice against her that a specific person seems to have against her.