A Rock, A River, A Tree
-- Speaker (Line 1)

Importance: The opening line of the poem is famous because it simultaneously establishes the setting and a cast of characters. Angelou uses capitalization in an unusual way, capitalizing each word of the line as if Rock, River, and Tree were different people’s names. Though this detail is unnoticeable in the oral version of the poem, the fact that the line does not include the conjunction “and,” as a normal sentence would challenges listeners’ interpretation of the line as merely setting the scene of the poem. By merging setting and characters, the beginning of the poem embodies its theme of unity.

Come, you may stand upon my / Back and face your distant destiny, / But seek no haven in my shadow. / I will give you no hiding place down here.
-- Rock (Lines 10 – 13)

Importance: These lines, spoken by the Rock, deliver one of the central messages of the poem: that...