Analysis Of Maya Angelou's 'Still I Rise'

‘Still I Rise’ by the American, Maya Angelou presents the character of a black woman who is oppressed in the 1970s but refuses to accept this. ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen, however, is concerned with a character who is ‘broken’ after the disabilities he suffers in the First World War at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The poem ‘Still I Rise’ is about a woman who discloses that she will overcome anything due to her self-confidence. The line ‘But still, like dust, I’ll rise’ is a metaphor that expresses that she will not be downtrodden by others. Instead, she will be the dust that rises from the dirt. Furthermore, the bold words ‘I rise’ exaggerates that she is a defiant character that will not be put down. Additionally, her relentless view is that no one can overcome her situation. The line ‘I am the dream and the hope of the slave’ refers to past relatives and even though she is an educated person now, she has not forgotten her past. She echoes Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech on Civil Rights which conveys her as a self-assured character. She humanises the slaves who also had hopes and dreams Moreover, the direct accusatory ‘You’ repeated over three lines in stanza six attracts attention to the negativity of those who do not want to recognise her as their equal. This conveys her as a serious bold character. The emphatic line ‘But still, like air, I’ll rise’ demonstrates her unfailing positivity to overcome obstacles. In Addition, the simile ‘like air’ differs and is more

Additionally, the miserable wounded soldier in Disabled is full of grief and reflects on his naïve decisions in the past which he wishes he regrets. Angelou uses language defiantly to convey her strength through similes, metaphors and repetition. Owen uses specific examples of before and after being a soldier. The latter uses rhyme and half rhyme “Years/Fears” to add a lyrical rhythm to the