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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 techniques are used in line 19, "’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines"?

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

3. What body of water does the speaker claim to be in the eighth stanza?

4. What is the rhyme scheme of the first seven stanzas?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is it possible to make an argument that even though the final two stanzas seem more focused on the speaker, they are also paradoxically less focused on the speaker? In what way do the first seven stanzas focus on individual characteristics of the speaker, and how do the final two stanzas shift this focus to the speaker as a representative of something larger than any one individual? Write an essay that makes an argument about how shifts in technical and content choices in the final two stanzas work together to alter the poem's focus from a personal disagreement to a historical one. 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

How is water used symbolically in "Still I Rise"? What forms of water are mentioned? Do they all seem to function in the same way, or is water operating in more than one way in the poem? Which forms of water is the speaker herself compared to? What do these forms of water have in common? How is the idea of "rising" water in this poem contrasted with the "falling" water represented by the image of teardrops? How do common literary meanings of water figure into this poem's symbolism, if at all? Write an essay that takes and defends a position on the symbolic meaning of water in "Still I Rise." 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 3

How does Angelou use the rhythm of her poem to create tone and shifts in tone? How does she use meter to emphasize ideas and support the poem's overall meaning? Write an essay in which you explicate and analyze the poem's rhythm. Describe how the initial meter is established and then note where this dominant meter changes. Comment on the possible purposes of both the poem's dominant meter and any changes to new metrical patterns. Support your explication and analysis with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from throughout the poem, and be sure to cite quoted evidence in MLA format.

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