Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Who is the poem addressed to?

"Still I Rise" is addressed to all the different oppressors that the speaker has to cope with. The poem is written from the African American woman perspective, which is one of the most oppressed groups in American history. Not only is the speaker dealing with racial oppression, but socioeconomic oppression post-slavery, and female sexuality oppression.
The poem works through addressing these different oppressors with each stanza, starting with how African Americans and blacks are portrayed in history text books, often being misrepresented as barbaric or helpless victims. Many historical documents write about African Americans and African history through a white lens, which would be the "bitter twisted lies."
The socioeconomic oppression is developed through lines such as "Don't you take it awful hard/ 'Cause I laugh like I got gold mines/ Diggin' in my own backyard." These allusions to wealth (gold mines, oil wells, diamonds) are often joined with descriptions of the speaker's personality or physical appearance. As if, because they are poor and black, they should not be sassy or haughty or sexy. That because they are oppressed socially, they should not act or carry themselves as if they possessed wealth, not even the wealth of spirit. The speaker addresses the oppressors, "Did you want to see me broken?/ Bowed head and lowered eyes?" which directly connects to slavery and the way many African slaves were treated or portrayed in history text books as needing to be submissive and lacking personality due to their station.
Black women especially face oppression of their sexuality. Throughout history, black women (especially African American women) have had to deal with the social pressure to conform to white beauty standards. Lighter skin, lighter eyes, and smooth hair have all be social beauty oppression force upon the black woman. American society especially has put the stigma that black can't be naturally beautiful. The speaker addresses this oppressor by being confident. The speaker is sassy, haughty, and sexy. "Does it come as a surprise/ That I dance like I've got diamonds/ At the meeting of my thighs?" She believes that she is beautiful and sexy with her natural features and she addresses the oppressor that would make her believe that she needs to change, or that she cannot be confident and believe in her sexiness if she does not conform to the beauty standards that society is insisting she conform to.


To answer in today's parlance, "this one goes out to all the haters."
In essence, Maya Angelou's defiant, triumphant "Still I Rise" is addressed to everyone attempting to keep the speaker down. Written from the perspective of an African American woman, arguably one of the most oppressed classes of people in the USA, the "you" in the poem is the dominant culture that "want[s] to see [her] broken."
The poem is deeply rooted in history, referencing slavery and the speaker's ancestors. In the face of systematic oppression and historical abuse, the speaker celebrates her own blackness, throwing her pride in the face of the "you" that would try to keep her down. In stanza 7, which begins, "Does my sexiness offend you?" the speaker also flaunts her feminine sexuality, refusing to be embarrassed or policed by societal expectations.

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