Still I Rise Questions and Answers (Long) | Class 11 English Second Semester WBCHSE
Comment on the title of the poem ‘Still I Rise’.
Ans. The poem ‘Still I Rise’ is about overcoming various challenges and rising above them. This poem presents the speaker’s bold and vehement defiance in the face of oppression, humiliation, hatred and racial discrimination. The word ‘still in the title implies that in spite of dominance, oppression, hatred and humiliation, the speaker will keep on rising above those obstacles. ‘I rise’ is the central theme of the poem and the repetition of the expression ‘I rise’ highlights the speaker’s undaunted and uncompromising spirit to rise above all adversities and impediments with self-reliance and courage. The repeated expression towards the end takes a collective revolutionary voice that consists of the raging uproar of a class, oppressed and betrayed for so long. This poem reflects the strong mindset of the speaker. Relentless efforts of the white oppressor to defame her, shape history with bitter twisted lies and ruffle her spirit will not be able to deter her from rising above. The title thus seems to be a statement of defiance against the tormentor and ‘Still I rise’ grows more powerful with each subsequent statement. The title therefore is apt and justified.
What is the poem ‘Still I Rise’ about? Discuss.
Ans. In the poem ‘Still I Rise’, the poet who is herself a black woman, tries to focus on the theme of survival with grace and dignity. This present poem is about self-respect resilience and confidence. The speaker of the poem, a black woman shows her bold defiance while facing oppression and humiliation. Even the distorted truths and twisted lies to shape history will not be enough to subdue her undaunted spirit. Every effort of the racist society to demean her, suppress her or humiliate her will prove unsuccessful. She is full of conviction to rise with dignity and pride after the oppressor’s several attempts to knock her down. From her ancestors, the speaker inherited determination, strength and resilience. With all the gifts from her ancestors she is confident enough to fulfil their hopes and dreams. This poem highlights the strong and powerful conviction of a black woman, her undaunted spirit against anti-black racism in America.
Who is the speaker in the poem ‘Still I Rise’? What instances are there to prove the speaker’s identity as a black woman?
Ans. The speaker of the poem ‘Still I Rise’ is a black woman who in a forceful and passionate manner expresses her strength and resilience in the face of an oppressive and racist society. Most probably, the speaker is the poetic persona and to be more specific, the poet herself who in her own life has to pass by the torments of anti-black racial discrimination, prejudice and humiliation as she belongs to the black-Afro-American class.
There are plenty of instances to prove that the speaker is a woman and that she is a black woman. In the second stanza the speaker states that her oppressor looks upset and gloomy because of her ‘sassiness’. The word ‘sassiness’ is generally applied to a woman and hence the use of the word ‘sassiness’ suggests that the speaker is a woman. Again in stanza seven the word ‘sexiness’ and the expression “I dance like I’ve got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs highlight the speaker’s womanship. In stanza eight the speaker compares herself to a black ocean. This is a clear reference to her identity as a black woman.
Describe in your own word how the last two stanzas are different from the previous stanzas.
Ans. The last two stanzas are different from the previous seven stanzas in many ways. The first seven stanzas contain four lines each with ABCB rhyme scheme. But stanza eight consists of six lines with ABABCC rhyme scheme and stanza nine has nine lines with ‘ABABCCBBB’ rhyme scheme. Moreover the final stanzas include repeated insertions of the refrain ‘I rise’ that breaks up the quatrain form of the previous seven stanzas. This symbolises the speaker’s effort to break away from oppressing traditions. Again in the final two stanzas, the speaker shifts her focus from ‘you’ to her own sense of self-liberation and self-esteern. Here she stops questioning her oppressor and exerts her own power with solemnity and confidence. The first six lines of the nine stanza are akin to the previous stanza in form and rhyme. However in the last stanza the speaker has used an additional three lines consisting of the refrain ‘I rise’. This firm declaration of the speaker bears the tone of resonating triumph over all the atrocities the speaker and her ancestors endured.
Comment on the use of imageries in the poem ‘Still I Rise’.
In the poem Still I Rise’, the poet Maya Angelou uses a plenty of imageries to display the speaker’s strength of endurance, self-esteem, confidence, and defiance. In the first stanza she uses the visual imagery of ‘dust’. ‘Dust’ is typically regarded as unpleasant and disruptive. But the speaker uses it to symbolise her hidden strength, indomitable spirit and resilience. The images of ‘oil wells’ and ‘gold mines’ are used to describe the speaker’s inherent beauty and value of her body and her self-confidence. Moreover she uses natural imageries like the sun, the moon, the tides and air to suggest that her rise in the face of oppression, prejudice hatred and humiliation is inevitable. The speaker again used the imagery of ‘black ocean’ to symbolise and highlight the immense power inherent in black.
“You may write me down in history/with your bitter, twisted lies”-Who is the speaker? What does the speaker want to say here? What kind of relationship between the speaker and the person spoken to here is evident?
Ans. Here the speaker is a black woman who is a victim of racial discrimination and oppression in Maya Angelou’s poem ‘Still I Rise”.
The speaker, an oppressed black woman wants to say that the oppressor may change the facts in history with his bitter and twisted lies. Thus he can shape history according to his own will to satiate his own-self. Here the speaker alleges that the history written by her oppressor is full of lies because his intention is only to lower her or demean her by any means.
These two lines of the first stanza establishes an antagonistic relationship between the speaker and the person spoken to, who is probably her oppressor. The speaker addresses her oppressor as ‘you’.
“You may trod me in the very dirt / But still, like dust, I’ll rise”-Explain in your own words the speaker’s observation and objective. Is there any Biblical reference?
Ans. Here ‘you’ is the oppressor representing the white society. The speaker is vocal about the kind of inhuman tortures endured by the black Afro-Americans in an anti-black racist society. The oppressor may tread on her heavily and put her down to the level of dirt but she will rise from it like dust rises. Thus the speaker shows her resiliency and boldness to face the tortures of the tormentor. The rage of the oppressor and her bold and open resistance are evident here.
The word ‘dust’ bears Biblical allusion. In the Bible, humans are said to be created by God from dust and they 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.
How does the poem ‘Still I Rise’ establish the strength and beauty of blackness? Or, Describe in your own words the theme of strength and beauty of blackness as presented in the poem ‘Still I Rise’.
Ans. The poem Still I Rise’ reveals the speaker’s strength self-worth and resilience, in the face of atrocities. The speaker is a black woman who powerfully expresses her courage, strength and self-worth in the face of an anti-black racist society. The speaker at first boldly defies all the attempts of the dominant oppressor to misrepresent black-history. She exposes her care-free bold attitude and strength when she refuses to let racist words, glares and actions negatively impact her sense of self-worth. She buckles her body with symbols of value and beauty like gold’ and ‘diamonds’. She asserts her strength when she vehemently declares that she is a black-ocean, immense and having great power and unstoppable. Through the image of dancing she suggests her inherent beauty and sexuality. Her proud walk and hearty laugh suggest her strength and pride in the face of tortures and atrocities of the racist society. The speaker shows her courage, strength and conviction when in the last stanza she presents herself as the embodiment of dream and hope of the black-enslaved to rise above oppression, hatred and humiliation. Thus the speaker in this poem glorifies her black-identity and tries to ascertain that all her strength and beauty are inherent.
How does the speaker in the poem ‘Still I Rise’ capture triumph over the atrocities of her oppressor?
Ans. The poem ‘Still I Rise’ is primarily about self-confidence, resilience and self-worth. The poem highlights the speaker’s strong and unyielding conviction and undaunted spirit in the face of anti-black racism in America. Throughout the poem, the speaker celebrates her determination and caliber to step up and move on from the personal and historical past. The oppressor’s attempts to misrepresent history with bitter, twisted lies and to destroy her with mean words, crooked glares or hatred prove futile as her rising above all atrocities is ascertained by her. The oppressor’s lust to see her crumbled in pain and misery is nothing but daydreaming to her. She is as immense and powerful as the black-ocean and her rising above all oppression and humiliation is as inevitable as the rise of the celestial bodies like the moon or the sun. She embraces the torments and miseries inflicted upon her black-ancestors and their endurance to break off the shackles of injustice, prejudice, hatred and torments not only as a black individual but also as a black-woman.
Do you think that Maya Angelou’s poem ‘Still I Rise’ is a representation of colour discrimination? Explain.
Ans. ‘Still Rise’ is one of the most acclaimed poems of the American civil rights activist Maya Angelou. Broadly speaking, the poem is a confident and forceful statement of the resilience and dignity of the marginalised people against oppression. Still, this poem can be interpreted as a powerful representation of colour discrimination. This poem speaks of the shameful history of America when anti-black racial segregation was in practice. The poem contains lines and phrases that address often in a direct manner the historical injustices faced by the Black people. In the first stanza the poet speaks of the distorted historical narratives and the legacy of slavery. Moreover the phrases like ‘huts of history’s shame’, ‘a past rooted in pain’, ‘nights of terror and fear’ give us the inferences of the afflicted and oppressed people and their miserable days of slavery. When the speaker states herself as a ‘black ocean’, she directly links herself with the enslaved ancestors who were the black Afro-Americans. Towards the end of the poem the speaker takes pride in the gifts of her ancestors and becomes the embodiment of dream and hope of the slaves. Thus she directly refers to his legacy here. The repeated phrase ‘I rise imparts resilience and the overcoming of systemic impediments related to race. Thus we may say, though this poem deals with the universal themes of resilience and empowerment, the contexts of colour discrimination and the fights of the Black people against racism and oppression are also rooted in deep.
How do you classify the poem ‘Still I Rise’ as a defiance against oppression?
Ans. Maya Angelou‘s poem ‘Still I Rise’ can be interpreted not only as a powerful statement of resilience and dignity but also an assertion against anti-black racism in America and a celebration of dignity in the face of oppression. The speaker here is bold and defiant enough to fight against injustice and oppression. The bold defiance of the speaker is evident when she speaks of her confidence to rise in spite of the oppressor’s relentless efforts to demean her with bitter and twisted lies. The oppressor wants to see her broken in spirit and crumbled in pain and misery. But despite all his attempts to shoot with mean words, cut with glares and kill with hatred, the speaker is defiant and continues to rise. Her joy, pride and dignity ooze out from her confident walk, generous laughter and dazzling dance. She is unwilling to bend to the oppressor’s will. With open resistence she is confident enough to attain victory over injustice and oppression. The speaker is unstoppable and immense like a black ocean She is confident enough to leave behind the horrific and sorrowful past of her ancestors to write a new page for the accomplishment of unfulfilled dreams and hopes. Her rise seems a vehement form of resistance against prejudice, injustice, hatred and oppression.
“Out of the huts of history’s shame / I rise / Up from a past that’s rooted in pain”- Explain, what the speaker wants to convey here?
Ans. Here the word ‘huts’ probably refers to the small crude shelters or houses where the African- American slaves used to live in when they were brought to America. The phrase ‘history’s shame refers to the shameful practice of slavery. The past painful days of slavery are considered as shameful mark in the history of America. During those days the Afro-American Black people were given brutal treatments and granted filthier tyrannies. The speaker acknowledges the past miserable days of the enslaved people who had to tolerate inhuman treatments from the white-skinned racist society. The speaker asserts here that in spite of those relentless efforts of the tormentors to dehumanize her and the Black people, she will rise.
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