Emily Dickinson's Poetry Has Been A Large Factor In American Culture

Angelou, Maya. I know why the caged bird sings. New York: random house, 1970. Print.

In “Champion of the World”, Maya Angelou tells a story of her childhood where the success of one man changed the future of her entire race. Maya Angelou, an African American woman, took a stand against racial segregation in form of her writing and words. She experienced many of the hardships that the people of her race were going through, and she knew it needed to stop.

No one would 've ever thought that s/he were similar to a person that lives across the Pacific or atlantic, or even a person across the globe. Actually, s/he might be similar to the person across the globe. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman and “Human Family” by Maya Angelou both share a common them, even though they talk about two tremendously different topics. This theme is that even with high-scale differences, people can nevertheless recognize similarities with others. Maya Angelou shows the theme by showing that everyone has a diverse lifestyle, but the lifestyle is made up of common things. On the other hand, Paul Fleischman portrays the theme by showing how so diverse people united to form similarities, through a common goal or common passion.

Once again, Maya Angelou manages to touch our hearts again with her poetic skills in Chapter 19 titled The Champion of the World in her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She recalls a time in her life where the African American community gathered at her grandmother's and uncle's store to hear a boxing match via radio. The boxing match was between the former champion Joe Louis and a white boxer. Maya Angelou takes the meaning of a simple boxing match into something more complex; she demonstrates the suffrage of her people fighting against oppression during that time period. She shows us that despite the injustices that may occur, there will always be victory for those who truly deserve it.

In my opinion, empathy takes some understanding of the situation that someone is going through. If we cannot understand the tragedies people face then we won't be able to empathize with them. Instead, we pity them for having to experience such a horrible life. Now days we say we understand people and their feeling, but we can never fully understand unless we go through the exact same situation. Authors like Maya Angelou can help shed some light on a terrible situation, but in the long run unless we face the same situation we will never be able to understand their pain.

Angelou’s contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and her achievements as an activist were remarkable. While these achievements seem to be enough to last a lifetime, the Civil Rights Movement was only the beginning for Angelou. Angelou worked as an outspoken Civil Rights activist during the movement. But even after the Civil Rights Movement had ended, she continued to be a voice of humanity, speaking out against anything that harmed the human spirit. Angelou moved on to influence American society as a whole, from the 1970’s to the day she died, May 28, 2014. She was a multi-talented person as Toni Morrison, a friend and contemporary of Angelou, expressed: “She had 19 talents and used 10. And she was a real original.” (qtd, in Sherwell, 2014).

After reading Maya Angelou’s quote, I realized there are still many things I have to learn about life. This quote made me think about how many things go unappreciated everyday, and how we should be thankful for these things. It also inspires me to work harder so that I can reach my goals in life. I need to learn this so that I can become a more appreciative and thankful person towards my family and friends.

Life is a long journey in which we are forced to experience something new everyday. We have days of strength, days of weakness, days of honesty, and days of deceit. We are not fully in control of the what happens to us, but we have the power to choose where to go next. We have the option to be happy, to be sad, to be a leader, or to be a follower. Choice is powerful, without choice we would not have change-for better or for worse. Everyday can significantly change because of a single choice. But every choice is not always available to everyone. There are barriers that stand in the way of each, some can be broken down easily, while others take more time and effort. Maya Angelou experienced and overcame more of these barriers than I could ever

American Romanticism is a concept that developed in the 17th century. Romanticism is all about emotions, the meaning of life, religion, society, the human form, death, and nature. Romanticism is very diverse and complex because each writer interprets the themes differently and each person who reads the poem can see something different and unique. Two famous and influential romantic poets were Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Although Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were both romantic poets they interpreted society and death in two completely different ways.

The speech I decided to analyze was Maya Angelou speaking about how love liberates. By being able to love and being loved means that you are lucky. The main thing that Maya Angelou is trying to get across is that love is liberating not binding. She tried to get her point across in many ways. The main ways was by telling stories. One of the main stories that she told was about leaving her mom’s house with her son. By her mom allowing her to leave and having no problems or reservations about it shows that her mom loved her no matter what. She also told the story of how when her mom was about to pass on she loved her and liberated her by telling her it was ok that she passed on. She expressed how it is liberating to be loved and showed that no matter the choices that are made that someone loves you and wants you near them. She used the gift of persuasion throughout her speech. Persuasion is the use of language and symbols of

Still I Rise, written in 1978 by African American poet and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou, is a resoundingly courageous and unearthing poem with an inspiring invited reading directly related to the time period it was written in: during the declaration for Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The poem discusses an African American woman’s struggles against racism and hatred from the society. It consists of nine-stanzas, offering words of inspiration to those who have been oppressed. It sends a message of hope that even in the midst of adversity it is possible to overcome obstacles and find the inner strength and confidence to rise above them. This poem is very straightforward making the message more meaningful and affective. This poem teaches readers that all humans have strength within them that can help to overcome any obstacles. “Out of the huts of history 's shame…/ I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide…/ Into a daybreak that 's wondrously clear…/I rise…” (29-43) generate a glorious ending and reflection of being the hope and the dream of slaves as reflected in the freedom and opportunity of the present day. The message drives a point that no matter what, the protagonist will be triumphant. The importance of having appreciation of our previous generations for what they have done for us and what they have left is highlighted in line 39, “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave”. Also, “I am the dream and the hope of the slave” (40) shows how Angelou

Marguerite went through a terrible time in her life so detrimental to her that she didn 't talk, Not a single word. As marguerite grew and got older she lived that way without any words, regardless of who tried to help her. Although Marguerite was remarkably intelligent and a notably nice girl she chooses to block the world out instead because it was easier. Maya Angelou better known as Marguerite in the short story “Mrs.Flowers” has been through a traumatic assault in her young age. Marguerite has shut many people out, until she has a discussion with Mrs.Flowers who shows her that shutting people out is not how you handle situations you do not want or know how to deal with. Showing Marguerite “ The measure of what a human being can be.”(20) Through Marguerite’s lessons of living taught by Mrs.Flowers.

Maya Angelou was primarily a very versatile and talented person. This woman of African American origin wrote and published seven autobiographies that were very popular and highly-evaluated in the US. However, she is well-known not only for being an author but also for being an actress, poet, dancer, and screenwriter. And of course we must not forget activism in the field of civil rights conducted by Maya. Being of African American origin and having a very difficult background full of discrimination and racial prejudice, Maya Angelou was then acting to protect and defend rights of other. All the set of activities she carried out just proves how important she was in terms of development of the America society.

This explication is on the poem “Africa” by Maya Angelou. In the poem, the speaker shows the suffering of Africa by personification, imagery, and wordplay to result that Africa is moving forward to regain herself to give us all the world has done to Africa. The speaker is a knowledgeable person who is passionate and knows well about Africa. The poem takes the setting of Africa and in the time period around the 1400s - 1500s. The poem is an ABAB pattern with three stanzas. The first stanza of the poem personifies Africa as a woman of her beauty. The second stanza shows the history of Africa crippled of her powers. The third stanza shows Africa is rising from the suffering of her past.

‘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.