... , female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). Ms. Angelou accomplished many things in her life. She was the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr ... Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year by Jimmy Carter, and in 1993 she wrote and delivered the presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou is a decorated author. She has been nominated for two Emmy awards and has won a Pulitzer Pri...

• Word Count: 1089
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... black, female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). Maya Angelou has accomplished many things in her life. She was the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King ... Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year by Jimmy Carter, and in 1993 she wrote and delivered the presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou is a decorated author. She has been nominated for two Emmy awards and has won a Pulitze...

• Word Count: 878
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... symbolize hope and opportunity. It is constantly repeated that, "His wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing" (Angelou, 1994 p.194). The caged bird may have little hope of becoming free, but he yearns for freedom nonetheless. Despite having anger and bitterness from his ... back. "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" (Angelou, 1994 p.163). She ends the poem on this triumphant note, "Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I...

• Word Count: 1024
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise" In the stanza above Maya Angelou rhymes the words "lies" and "rise" . By rhyming the two she is emphasizing that although people may lie or say harmful ... to do whatever it takes to continue to rise. The rhyming also allows readers to understand and presume the strong sense of determination being inferred. Maya Angelou does an exceptional job of using similes in her poem to make comparisons. The comparisons she is making endows readers to imagine how she is feeling ... to keep on r...

• Word Count: 644
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... further encapsulate the theme in this poem. These include the use of imagery, symbolism, metaphors and similes along with numerous sound devices. Maya Angelou utilized figurative imagery to exemplify the sad reality, which was the oppression of African Americans during slavery along with the mistreatment of women. & ... "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries." (13-16) Angelou tends to the readers' senses during this stanza, particularly of sight, by portraying an image of defeat. The "soulful cries" ...

• Word Count: 1250
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

"Woman Work" by Maya Angelou is a poem that expresses the hardships of being a working mother. "Woman Work" is from the perspective of a poor mother who is struggling to get through life. She is ... the poem finds comfort in nature. When writing their works, poets use literary devices to make the message of their theme stand out and be more effective. Following this, Maya Angelou also chooses to use literary devices that are present throughout this poem. Some of them include apostrophe, personification, consonance, and others. Examples of usage of apostrophe are: "shine on ... ...

• Word Count: 833
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , female, non-Muslim, non-Arab, six foot tall, and American made for some interesting experiences during her stay in Africa (Williams 1). Ms. Angelou accomplished many things in her life. She was the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr ... Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year by Jimmy Carter, and in 1993 she wrote and delivered the presidential inauguration for President Bill Clinton. Maya Angelou is a decorated author. She has been nominated for two Emmy awards and has won a Pulitzer Pri...

• Word Count: 1089
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , God Put a Rainbow in the Clouds",1 which she sang to open a lecture she gave at Weber State University. The beginning of this song shows what Angelou is saying in "Phenomenal Woman". None of us, no matter how we feel about ourselves, is anything less than "Phenomenal." There may be women who are ... that should not make us any less of a person or woman. We are all different and our strengths lie in different areas of ourselves. This is what Angelou is telling us with this poem when she says "Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. I"m not cute or built to fit a fashion model's size, ....

• Word Count: 1242
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... two " "Cause I walk like I've got oil well pumping in my living room?". Or stanza four " Shoulder falling down like teardrops. weakened by my soulful cries." Angelou uses several literary devices throughout the poem. Some of the most obvious are slang, and repetition. The phrase "Still I Rise", and "I rise are used repeatedly through out ... with "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 rise." Angelou is saying that she has faith in what she was taught. Sometimes you have to look further than the tangible obj...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... word choice could sabotage the intensity and powerful emotion of the poem. The poem was arranged perfectly to leave a lasting imprint in the hearts of many, even years after Maya Angelou has passed. One of the most fascinating elements of this poem is it's emotion. The emotion that stands out beyond the others is Maya's obvious cockiness about the way she ... thought: "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" (Angelou, Still I Rise). In that stanza alone, it is obvious that Maya Angelou is a bold and extre...

• Word Count: 1199
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... undergoes in her life, affects her writing. Each loss and triumph has a direct effect on her perspectives, and each change that her work is exposed to strengthens her talent. Maya Angelou has described Sonia Sanchez very accurately as "a lion in a literature's forest She takes pain, oppression, and politics and channels in into a beautiful song, which is poetry, making you hum, trance ... ...

• Word Count: 1209
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School