Instead sharing my opinion about #OscarSoWhite, I thought I would introduce you all to my new favourite role model, Maya Angelou. It is up to us to focus on the REAL heroes rather than imaginary ones. Readers would probably stop reading by now because I am analysing poetry, but her poems are really amazing! Trust me. I hope you like them as much as I do.
Reasons to love Maya Angelou!
First, look at this awesome video of her poem, Still I Rise. It’s soooo sassy, just like me. She also cares about the same things I do in the poem:
- overcoming discrimination
- celebrating joy and nature
- challenging greed and selfishness
- reclaiming history from dominant voices
- reclaiming and celebrating female beauty
Reasons to love this poem
What most people don’t realise is that poetry should be heard, not read. The poem sounds so much cooler when you hear her recite it. Those of you who are paying attention will notice that the reading is slightly different from the written version. The direct questions in lines 5, 13, 17 and 25 feel more immediate when she looks at you in the video.
You can also hear the iambic rhythms more clearly. The anaphora in stanza 6 is far more dramatic in the reading and supports the strong emphasis of the verbs. The beautiful metaphor in line 31 shows her large personality perfectly and how she will always overcome adversity - just like the title suggests.
Not convinced yet?
Then I suggest you go look at her famous poem, Phenomenal Woman, and her awesome reading at President Clinton’s inauguration. They are both celebrations of her wonderful spirit.
So, do you have a hero like her? I would love to hear all about her! Write in the comments below :)
Good way of relating the poem to yourself! Amazing job Cheryl. I like the way you make the words important capitalized in the intro. You should mention more poetic techniques as you only mentioned rhyme but maybe some more as it could relate to what it is trying to express for the reader’s. The ending, I especially like the ending, so casual and fun. A job well done :):) ~ Rachel
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl, I LOVE the introduction and the title. It hooked me on and added the element of humour into it. Good job! Although your analysis was very conversational (a little too much) it fits the style and structure of a blog post really well. However, I think your analysis could be more in depth. You could talk more about the poetic devices and the impact on the reader. All in all, I do think you did well and it was a good read. - Hilarie
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