Poetry Assignment
How are the poet’s ideas, perspectives and experiences explored in three of the poems you have studied?
There is conflict underlying the Maya Angelou poem ‘Still I Rise’ as the poet is referring to conflict between herself and the people in society who would like to see her tied to the past and are offended by her success as a person. The conflict is with those who want her kept down because she is an African American woman. Similar to the conflict found in Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’ when The traveller comes to a fork in the road where he has to make a decision about which to take. The poem becomes an extended metaphor about the choices we make.
Metaphors and Similes
The poet uses similes in every verse and they are usually in the form of s challenge to the person or persons she is addressing in the narration. For example she asks why they seem to be so angry that she "laughs like I've gold mines diggin' in my own backyard"; the similes compare her joy and her confidence to that of a person who has made it big financially and has no worries.
Alliteration and Assonance
"Dance l...
