Poem Critique

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First Paragraph

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3.What is the poem about? (What is the theme or subject of the poem?)

4.Tone: Do you think the author has a positive or negative attitude toward the subject? (Or a different feeling toward the subject of the poem?) Explain.

  1. What is your first impression of the poem? Do you like it? Why or why not?

5.Mood: What is the mood of the poem? Is it happy, sad, devastating, etc.? Which words contribute to the overall mood?

  1. When was the poem written and/or published (year)?
  1. What do you know about that time period?

8.Does the author write about certain things from the past?

  1. Where was the poet living and what was he/she doing (working, going to school, etc.) at that time?

  1. Are there any difficult or confusing words? List them.

  1. What do the words alone tell you? (What does it make you think of?)
  1. Does the poem rhyme?
  1. Does it follow a particular rhyme scheme? If so, explain.
  1. What is the type of the poem?

  1. Does the poem compare things without using like or as (metaphors)?


  1. Does the poem give non-human things human characteristics (personification)?

  1. Does the poem use any comparisons of things using the words “like” or “as” (similes)?

  1. After researching and analyzing the poem, has your opinion of the poem changed at all? If so, how? If not, why not?
  1. Do you think your classmates would like this poem? Why or why not?
  1. Ask yourself “So what?” about the poem. What is the point of it? Why do you think the author wrote it?
  1. Why is this poem relevant today? (Importance/impact.)
  1. Does the author write about a person or event from history? Explain.

  1. What does the title tell you about the poem?
  1. Are there any divisions in the poem? (Separate stanzas)

"Still I Rise" is the title of the poem, it tells me that it is about someone who had a lot of people trying to bring them down but they conquered and rose up

My first impression of the poem is that it's very straight forward and the poet has a unique style of writing

The poem is about not allowing anyone to look down on you

It appears that the poem was written with the black slavery and civil rights issues in mind, but "Still I Rise" is universal in its appeal. Any innocent individual, any minority, any nation subject to oppression or abuse could understand the underlying theme - don't give in to torture, bullying, humiliation and injustice.

It seems that the poem is a written to bring hope and empowerment to those who have faced injustice and oppression as the poet have faced these subject since she lived as a black woman through a time period were racism and sexism were very present

The poem "Still I Rise" was published in 1978

Racism and injustice was regularly occurring in that time period

"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, published in 1978. It was published during one of the most productive periods in Angelou's career; she had written three autobiographies and published two other volumes of poetry up to that point.

  1. Do you think what was going on during that time period had anything to do with this poem? Explain.

Racism and injustice was regularly occurring in that time period which led Maya to write this poem

The tone of the poem is confident and self-assured, because the poet used phrases like "you may write me down in history" . The poem had a positive attitude towards the subject

The mood of the poem is encouraging, because after reading the poem it will encourage people to not let others let them down. Words that contributed to the poem were "I'll rise" and "hope".

  1. Do you think the poem has a purpose? What do you think it is? What do others (experts) think it is?

Yes, the poem does have a purpose. Its purpose was to raise awareness to the injustice and oppression that was occurring at the time and to also encourage the ones who face them to stand up for themselves

Yes there are, the poem is separated into 8 stanzas.

Its lyrical

Yes it does

Yes; abcb

  1. Why do you think the author chose to use those particular words?

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  1. How will this poem be relevant in the future?
  1. How does this poem inspire readers?