"It's Not A Bird, It's Not A Plane" - Trevor

It’s Not A Bird, It's Not A Plane

By Trevor

Presenting The Poet

In the 20th century, racism and sexism were huge issues. Maya Angelou, a poet that has lived under those social prejudices, was an activist against racial and gender discrimination, and “Still I Rise” is one of her many poems that protests against them. This poem conveys the poet’s determination to rise up from the double discrimination that she has to face.

Repetition and Rhetorical Questions

This poem uses repetition to highlight the poet’s determination to rise up from the double discrimination that she was facing. A section of the poem that can emphasize my point is “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.” The phrase “I rise” is repeated consecutively, and every other line in the poem mentions “I rise” as well. This stresses how the poet is determined to rise from discrimination, and she is confident in doing so.

This poem uses rhetorical questions to refute the people who discriminate others. The poet questions the audience by asking “Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes?” These quotes show how the poet is not afraid of challenging the people who discriminate her, as the tone used in the questions sounds very confident. Since the poet is a black woman, the rhetorical questions in the poem show how she thinks that all races and genders should be equal.

Maya Angelou uses “Still I Rise” to express how she would not succumb to discrimination, and sends a universal message to the audience, no matter if they are black or white, male or female.

“Out of the huts of history’s shame, I rise. Up from a past that’s rooted in pain, I rise.”