Essay Personal Perseverance in the Works of Maya Angelou

Personal Perseverance in the Works of Maya Angelou Internationally respected brilliant poet, historian, and author Maya Angelou says in all my work I try to tell the human truth-what it is like to be human...what makes us stumble and fumbleand fall and somehow miraculously rise and go on from the darkness and into the light (Ebony 96). This theme is consistently exemplified throughout Angelous greatly acclaimed autobiographical worksand poems such as I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in my Name, Still I Rise and Phenomenal Women. All of these books depict the true-life stories of Ms. Maya Angelous tragedies, and there dreadful conditions she had encountered in her youth. But in all of Angelous novels and†¦show more content†¦Throughout Angelous autobiography she consistently returns to the subject of her calamitous rape the racial hatred that left Angelou in a horrible emotional state, and, as well, left her feeling helpless and trapped , not understanding who she really was. Angelous will to never stay a pri soner, to never stay quit and to fly away from that horrible life is also expressed in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, where she writes the bird that stalks down the narrow cage can seldomthrough his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing (86). In 1937 Angelou stopped talking and became mute following her rape.Instead she became an observer of everything around her,including the racial divisions of her town. Angelous knapsack of misery is illustrated in this book as well as the pain of her self discovery, and, most of al, the book depicts the love and joy of being and understanding of who she was and is: a strong, black, beautiful women. Maya Angelous poems, collected in volumes such as Still I Rise and Phenomenal Women have received great critical acclaim. These poems briefly summarize the hardship Angelou has encountered. But once again she leaves the reader spellbound with her unwillingness to stay down and her overwhelming strenth. Angelou write in the poem Still I Rise: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me inShow MoreRelatedThe Poetry Pundits : Racism1197 Words   |  5 PagesPoetry Pundits. I’m your host Max Millis, and in today’s podcast I will be analysing two poems by acclaimed American poet, storyteller, activist, and autobiographer, Maya Angelou. 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