The setting of the poem is established in the first line as a typical, if unadorned, scene from nature: “A Rock, A River, A Tree” (1). But Angelou uses capitalization in a creative way to upend our expectations following this line. By capitalizing each word in the line, so that Rock, River, and Tree appear like proper names or titles, she transforms what would seem to be a mere setting of the poem into a cast of characters who will “Speak to humankind today” (52). The fact that “the mastodon” (3) marked the Rock, River, and Tree in question indicates a North American setting, but Angelou provides few concrete details aside from this prehistoric reference. She implies that the setting spans much of the planet by remarking that the River lays “Across the wall of the world” (23) from the Rock. Through this ambiguity, Angelou underlines the importance of the Rock, River...