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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 7 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What technique is used in lines 7 and 8, "’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells/ Pumping in my living room"?

2. What is the primary quality that the speaker's stanza eight description of a body of water is intended to convey?

3. How does the speaker characterize herself in line 4?

4. In line 17, what kind of a person is described by the word "haughtiness"?

5. What precious stones does the speaker use to evoke beauty and value in the simile in line 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the pattern that stanzas 2, 4, 5, and 7 have in common.

2. What oppressive actions does the speaker suggest "you" might take, and how does she say she will respond?

3. Why is the poem titled "Still I Rise" and not just "I Rise"--what additional idea does the word "Still" convey?

4. What do all of the questions the speaker asks have in common?

5. What specific historical phenomenon does the speaker talk about rising above in the final two stanzas, and what allusion does she use to introduce the topic?

6. In the final stanza, what metaphor does the speaker use, and what does it signify?

7. Describe how the final two stanzas of the poem differ from the first seven stazas.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Angelou's use of rhyme in "Still I Rise" relate to the broader question of how she employs musical devices in this poem? What are the purposes of the rhyme scheme? How does it group and emphasize ideas, create pace and flow, and contribute to tone? How does Angelou use other musical devices, such as rhythm and repetition, (of sounds, words and phrases, grammatical patterns, and so on), to accomplish these same objectives? Write an essay in which you demonstrate how the poem's rhyme scheme and its other musical devices work together to accomplish similar objectives. Support your analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the poem, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 2

Read Lucille Clifton's poem "won't you celebrate with me" (available online). What does Clifton mean by "babylon," in line 4? What claim is she making about oppression and triumph? How does she also use natural resources in her poem? Is her speaker's voice similar to or different from the speaker in "Still I Rise"? Why? Write an essay in which you discuss similarities and differences in the way Clifton and Angelou approach the theme of survival against oppression. Support your analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout both poems, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Among Maya Angelou's many contributions to American literature and culture are her inspirational speeches and interviews. Choose and watch one of her speeches or interviews from the dozens available online. What are the key ideas that she expresses in the video? What rhetorical strategies does she use to make her ideas appealing and memorable? How does this compare to the ideas she expresses in "Still I Rise"? Do you see any strategies in common between the prose in the video and the poetry of "Still I Rise"? Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the content and style of her remarks in the video you chose with the content and style of "Still I Rise." Support your observations with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from both sources, and be sure to cite borrowed language in MLA format.

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