Question

Summary on "Still i rise"

Answer 1

The poem is directed towards those in society who would tie her to her past and to a history that has been misrepresented and cannot be relied upon. The poet is angered by this and also baffled by the way in which some people do not want her to succeed or become more than the sum of her history. The poem is a declaration of strength and of determination. The poet does not understand why her happiness makes others miserable and her questions are as much to them as they are rhetorical as she tries to come up with answers that would explain their reactions.

The crux of the poet's personal manifesto is that whatever is done to try to hamper her progress, or take away her rights, it will not matter because it will not prevent her from becoming what she wants to, and it will not stop her demanding equality in the way she is treated. She also refuses to let anybody steal her joy.

She also speaks for others without actually stating that this is what she is doing; she is telling those who want to keep African Americans tied to their slavery past and to rewrite the history of this slavery that despite their efforts they will not succeed. Whatever they do, they cannot stop people moving forward.