Poem Analysis:

1.
If you
analyzed
this:

Then, you
will now
analyze
this:

1. St
itches
by
Shawn
Mende
s

1. H
ow Do I
Love
Thee?
(Sonne
t 43)
by
Elizabe
th
Barrett
Browni
ng

2. S
kyscra
per by
Demi
Lovato

2. St
ill I
Rise
by
Maya
Angelo
u

3. W
ings
by
Mackle
more

3. Bl
ack
Friday
by
Kevin

Leake
2. Paste the lyrics of your new poem below:
You may write me down in history A
With your bitter, twisted lies, B
You may trod me in the very dirt C
But still, like dust, Ill rise. B
Does my sassiness upset you? D
Why are you beset with gloom? D
Cause I walk like Ive got oil wells F
Pumping in my living room. D
Just like moons and like suns, G
With the certainty of tides, H
Just like hopes springing high, H
Still Ill rise. H
Did you want to see me broken? I
Bowed head and lowered eyes? J
Shoulders falling down like teardrops, K
Weakened by my soulful cries? J
Does my haughtiness offend you? L
Dont you take it awful hard M
Cause I laugh like Ive got gold mines J
Diggin in my own backyard. N
You may shoot me with your words, O
You may cut me with your eyes, J

You may kill me with your hatefulness, P

But still, like air, Ill rise. J
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like Ive got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of historys shame
I rise
Up from a past thats rooted in pain
I rise
Im a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak thats wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Questions
3. Describe the structure of the poem
(How many lines are there? How
many stanzas? What is the rhyme
scheme?)
4. Who is the intended audience?
5. Describe what the speaker is like.

Answers
Use complete sentences!
3. There are 33 lines and 9 stanzas. The
rhyme scheme is A, B, C, B, D, D, F, D,
G, H, H, H.
4. It is targeted toward racist people who
think that blacks are inferior, and they can

6. What is the name of the poet?

7. What is the poems rhyme scheme?
8. Does the poet use alliteration? If so,
give an example.
9. Does the poet use consonance? If
so, give an example.
10. Does the poet use assonance? If
so, give an example.
11. Does the poem use diction with
positive or negative connotations?
Give some examples.
12. What kind of tone does the author
use? Give an example of a line
that illustrates this tone.
13. What kind of mood do you feel as
a reader? Give an example of a
line that illustrates this mood.
14. What is a theme that you noticed
in the poem? Use evidence to
support your theme.

just beat them down whenever they want.

5. The speaker is an African-American.
6. The poets name is Maya Angelou.
7. The poems rhyme scheme is A, B, C,
B, D, D, F, C, G, H, H, H.
8. Yes, when she writes, Just like hopes
springing high, it is an alliteration with
the letter H.
9. Yes, the line Cause I walk like Ive got
oil wells repeats the consonant L in the
words walk, like, oil, and wells.
10. Yes, in the line Welling and swelling I
bear in the tide the vowel sound eh is
repeated in welling and swelling.
11. Yes, the phrase You may trod me in
the very dirt could mean to bring the
person down or physically step him/her
into the soil.
12. The author uses an empowering tone,
showing her determination and fierceness
for this topic with the two lines You may
trod me in the very dirt. But still, like dust,
Ill rise.
13. The mood it brings out is different
depending on the reader. To me, it makes
me feel sympathetic, like I want to actively
help African-Americans now. To racists, it
makes them feel infuriated because they
they black people shouldnt be speaking
their minds aloud. Racists mind would be
angry at this line, With your bitter, twisted
lies.
14. The theme is to get back up even
when people bring you down because
she repeats the phrase, I rise, and that
is the title of the poem.