Still I Rise Questions and Answers | Class 11 English Second Semester WBCHSE
1. Why is Maya Angelou mainly famous for?
Ans. Poet, activist, scholar, writer, dancer and singer Maya Angelou is mainly famous for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.
2. Mention Maya Angelou’s life span.
Ans. Marguerite Annie Johnson, fondly known as Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, US and died on May 28, 2014 at the age of 86 in Winston Salem, North Carolina, US.
3. Where from is the poem ‘Still I Rise’ taken?
Ans. Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise’ is taken from her third volume of poetry, ‘And Still I Rise’ published by Random House in 1978. It was published during one of the most productive periods in Angelou’s career.
4. How many poems are there in the volume “And Still I Rise”? What is the central focus of the volume?
Ans. The collection of poems ‘And Still I Rise’ is made up of 32 short poems divided into three parts. The theme of the poems in the collection focuses on a hopeful determination to rise above difficulty, oppression and discouragement.
5. What is the theme of the poem ‘Still I Rise’?
Ans. The poem “Still I Rise’ presents the bold defiance of the speaker in the face of oppression. The speaker, a black woman, responds to the ill treatment and humiliation of the society not only by surviving but also by thriving. She rises repeatedly over the oppressors’ violent hatred and prejudice.
6. Why is the title begin with the word ‘still’? Or, What is the significance of the word ‘still’ in the title of the poem?
Ans. The word ‘still’ serves as a challenge to the oppressor. In spite of the oppressors’ repeated attempts to humiliate, ‘shoot’, ‘cut’ or ‘kill’ her, the speaker remains defiant by continuing to ‘rise’ in triumph. The word ‘still’ symbolises the speaker’s boldness to resist any oppression.
7. “You may write me down in history”-Who is you here?
Ans. The poem demonstrates the rebellion of a black woman against the white masters, the oppressors. Hence, the ‘you’ here refers to the oppressive white colonialists, more specifically the white society who used to treat the Afro-Americans brutally and shamelessly.
8. “You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies” -What does the line signify?
Ans. Here the speaker expresses her antagonistic view against her oppressor. The speaker, a black woman, accepts that her oppressor, specifically the white society, has the power to write lies about the speaker twisting them in a bitter way and present them as historical facts.
9. “You trod me in the very dirt”-Explain what the speaker wants to suggest.
Ans. Here there is a direct reference to the oppression made by the white-skinned people to the Afro-American slaves. To tread another person into the dirt suggests to treat the person with enormous disrespect and almost shocking violence. The speaker wants to mean that the oppressors try to humiliate her by worst possible means. However she had the boldness to survive and strive against such humiliation.
10. What does the speaker mean by ‘history’ in the first line?
Ans. The speaker, a black woman, tries to say that historical narratives are typically shaped by the perspective of the powerful. She refers to that world which has tried to suppress her voice. The white colonialists have tried to write ‘lies’ about the black Afro-Americans.
11. Do you find any Biblical reference in the word ‘dust’?
Ans. The word ‘dust’ obviously bears a Biblical allusion. In the Bible, humans are said to be created by God from ‘dust and to return to dust after death. By stating that she is like ‘dust’, the speaker asserts that, she too is a human being and a creation of God. She demands that her oppressors must recognise her full humanity.
12. Why does the speaker compare herself to ‘dust’?
Ans. The ‘dust’ imagery serves a meaningful purpose in the poem. None can control the dust when the revolutionary wind arrives. The speaker here wants to assert that she will rise like the dust particles and blind those who trod her before.
13. What does the repeated expression in the last stanza ‘I rise’ convey?
Ans. Rising is the main theme of the poem. The repeated expression ‘I rise conveys a message of hope and also a message of triumph over oppression and racism. Through this expression the speaker asserts her confidence to respond to oppression.
14. “With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I rise” -What does the speaker want to suggest here?
Ans. Through these lines the speaker wants to assert the inevitability of her rise above the racist society’s oppressions, hatred and prejudice. Her rise is as certain as the rise of ocean’s tides. Here she compares her rise to the rise of hopes springing high.
15. What does the speaker convey by comparing herself to moons and suns?
Ans. The speaker compares herlf to natural elements to suggest that her strength is as timeless and eternal as the ‘moons’ and ‘suns’. The rise of these celestial bodies in the sky is eternal and inevitable and likewise the speaker’s rise against the oppression, prejudice and torments from the racist society is also inescapable.
16. “Does my sassiness upset you?”-What does the speaker actually want to suggest here?
Ans. This is a rhetorical question and through this question the speaker mocks at the oppressor because she is a bit sarcastic here. The oppressor looks unhappy and disappointed because of the speaker’s haughtiness. The arrogance of the speaker is quite visible here.
17. How does the speaker describe her walk here?
Ans. The speaker describes her walk as the walk of a sassy woman. She walks as if she has got oil-wells pumping in her living room. Her empowerd walk must be depressing and disappointing for her oppressor.
18. How does her oppressor want to see her.
Ans. According to the speaker, her oppressor wants to see her broken in body and spirit as well. The oppressor wants her to bow down in surrender or defeat.
19. Who does the speaker refer to as ‘you’ in this poem?
Ans. The speaker refers to the oppressor as you. More specifically we may say that the speaker, a representative of the Afro-Americans addresses the white people who have mastered and subjugated Afro-Americans in different ways since their arrival as slaves.
20. What is the mood of the poem?
Ans. The mood of the poem Still I Rise’ is overall that of inspirational, joyful and triumphant defiance against the prolonged cruel and unjust treatments and against racism.
21. How does the speaker express her sensuality in this poem?
Ans. The speaker expresses her sensuality in the manner of her dancing. She says that she dances like she has got diamonds at the meeting of her thigh. Thus she believes that her sensual approach upsets her oppressor.
22. Why does the speaker use ‘oil-wells’ and ‘gold-mines’?
Ans. The speaker uses ‘oil-wells’ and ‘gold-mines’ as symbols of wealth, power and confidence. She presents herself as a sassy and haughty woman who is confident enough to upset her offender with her proud walk and laugh.
23. “Don’t you take it awful hard ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold-mines”-What does the speaker want to suggest here?
Ans. Here the speaker makes a reference to wealth while refering to the way she laughs. The speaker is sarcastic here. She states her oppressor’s discontent on seeing her defiant and proud. Her laugh in a proud way as if she is wealthy enough to own gold-mines incites irritation and discontent in the oppressor.
24. What actions, according to the speaker, may the oppressor take to lower her spirit?
Ans. According to the speaker, the oppressor may shoot her with his harmful words or he may cut her with his resentful looks. Again he may kill her with his contempt. In this way her oppressor may use abusive words, give nasty looks and show utmost contempt to lower her spirit.
25. What do ‘shoot with words’ and ‘cut with eyes’ mean?
Ans. Through these expressions the speaker wants to suggest the defamatory gestures of the racist society. The expression ‘shoot with words’ suggests the insulting and abusive words against her to make her feel upset. The expression ‘cut with eyes’ suggests the nasty and resentful looks of the people.
26. “Does my haughtiness offend you?”-What does the speaker intended to say?
Ans. Through this rhetorical question the speaker presents her bold and proud character in the face of oppression and prejudice. The speaker asks if her proud nature offend her oppressor. She assumes that the oppressor is offended because of her audacity and boldness.
27. “Out of the huts of history’s shame”-What does ‘history’s shame’ represent?
Ans. The phrase “history’s shame’ is a metaphor for slavery. In American history, the era of enslavement of Africans is a shameful era in history. The phrase here represents this shameful era in American history that went on for long.
28. “Out of the huts of history’s shame”-What does the word ‘huts’ refer?
Ans. In this line the speaker probably refers to the small crude shelters in which the slaves were once housed. This is a reference to the poor housing conditions of the enslaved people.
29. What does the speaker want to suggest when she says ‘a past that’s rooted in pain’?
Ans. Through the expression “a past that’s rooted in pain”, the speaker once again wants to focus on the hurtful dimal days of slavery when inhuman tortures were inflicted upon the black people. This may be a reference to all the tortures that black people experienced from slavery to racial discrimination.
30. How do you conclude that the persona is a female?
Ans. In this poem the speaker embraces her sexuality and rejects male oppression as she fights against segregation based on both race and gender. The speaker’s confidence in her sexuality and provocative dancing suggests that the speaker is a female character.
31. What does the speaker in ‘Still I Rise’ want to suggest by ‘black ocean’?
Ans. Ocean is a powerful force of nature. She is as powerful and untamable as a black ocean. By describing the ocean as ‘black’, the speaker unifies her ownself as a Black person, and thus asserts her power inherent in her blackness.
32. “Leaving behind nights of terror and fear”-What does the speaker want to suggest by ‘nights of terror and fear’?
Ans. The phrase ‘nights of terror and fear’ is used here as a reference to slavery. The image of ‘nights of terror and fear speaks of the history of suffering of the Afro-American people. This image refers to the oppressions that caused terror and fear for the enslaved marginalised people.
33. “I rise/Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear”-What does the speaker want to convey here?
Ans. Here through the image of ‘daybreak’ which is wondrously clear, the speaker wants to suggest that the nights of terror and fear are now over. Now lies the clear daybreak. She is hopeful and can see the light of hope of her present and future.
34. “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave”-Who are the ancestors and what are their gifts?
Ans. The ancestors are those black Afro-Americans who were once brought to America forcibly for slavery. They had to tolerate inhuman tortures and brutality from the white racist society.
The speaker’s indomitable spirit, inordinate strength, resilience, energy and boldness are the gifts of her ancestors. She is proud of her ancestry.
35. What message does this poem convey to the readers?
Ans. The poet has conveyed an important message through this poem. It communicates us that one should have full trust in one’s abilities and one should remain hopeful about one’s abilities. The inherent qualities are the best weapons to fight against injustice and prejudice.
36. What does the poem reveal about the nature of the speaker?
Ans. The poem ‘Still I Rise’ presents the speaker as a dauntless, revolutionary character who takes pride in her own identity. She is also proud of her own inherent qualities and her body. She presents herself as an embodiment of hope, dream and indomitable courage of the black people.
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