Sienna's Online Journal

Only me? How could I be the only one here in the past two or 3 years? A shiver slowly runs its way down my spine as if a droplet of water had fallen at the bottom of my neck and slowly crept its way down my back. Something isn’t right about this place. Something is off but I fail over and over again to place my finger on it. 

My room is quiet and cold and my sheets feel so thin, the water bottle she put in between my sheets has done nothing to calm the feeling in my gut. I stand up out of bed and walk over to the gas fire but something catches my eye. In the corner of my room I notice my door is slightly ajar. That’s odd I’m positive I closed it? I walk over and place my hand on the handle but then notice a light coming from a room down the hallway. She never showed me that room, or maybe I never noticed it?

My curiosity overcomes me and I step outside into the dark abyss of the hallway. My bare feet creep across the floor towards the light of the door. It’s slightly open just like mine was but I can’t see inside. I reach my hand out and touch the cold metal handle. I stop for a second and inhale then open it.

In the middle of the room covered in a soft cloth sits a long table. Beside it is another smaller one with some small thing that shines in the light that captures my eyes. I walk over to the smaller table and look at its contents all laid out neatly on a cloth. Pliers, surgical gloves, tweezers and other sharp tools I can’t identify sit in front of me.

I look up to the corner of the room to see 2 tall dark figures standing staring at me. I freeze like a deer in headlights but they don’t move. Walking over to them I notice they have the features of men and as I get closer my stomach sinks. They stand there like manikins but they are not. I reach out and touch the closest one’s hand. It’s ice cold.

“I see you’ve found my collection” comes a voice behind me

Still I Rise is a poem written by an African-American woman Maya Angelou in 1978. Angelou talks about self respect and self acceptance with confidence throughout the whole poem. She speaks about the eternal fight of slavery and woman’s hardships with a strong and powerful use of words. Her use of techniques such as metaphors, similes, historical or personal references and the language or tone of text has been used to give a particular effect on the reader to put them in the position as if it is them that is the one that is in the wrong. 

One of the techniques that have been used in this poem is metaphors and similes to give a certain effect that makes the sentences strong and powerful. Every stanza has at least one simile and one metaphor. Similes have been used to compare a person or object with another but still making the meaning clear to the reader or oppressor without explaining the background behind it. Angelou compares herself to objects throughout the poem but the metaphors have then been used mostly to explain what other people would like to view Angelou as. For example when she says ‘You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness’ is an incredible use of violent, weighty and aggressive words. She does this again when she says ‘I’m a black ocean, leaping and wild’ which gives her the power and depth of meaning just like an ocean with her words. Her metaphors are very strong and vivid in the sixth stanza showing the oppressor what she can overcome. When she uses similes in stanza three; she suggests that she is strong and predictable but powerful by comparing herself to the world’s natural elements ‘moons,’ ‘suns,’ and ‘tides.’ Just as these natural elements continue to thrive and stay strong through anything thrown against them and carry on so does she.

Angelou links words in the poem to historical and personal references of society and her own personal background. She does this so that we can make our own connections to what she is saying throughout the poem. ‘Out of the huts of history’s shame’ is a reference to slaves throughout history where innocent black people were treated with hate and resentment. Whereas ‘Leaving behind nights of terror and fear’ refers to her own personal history and background but still has a connection to history’s slaves. ‘Bringing home gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave’ is a successive pair of lines of verse known as a couplet where she is successful with all her strings of achievement she has made even after all of history and societies disruptions to her and everyone going through hard times. But she will not inherit her ancestors’ pain but their power to overcome and hope for a new, bright and peaceful future that she intends on fulfilling when she says she is ‘The dream and the hope of the slave.’ She also refers to herself as a ‘black ocean,’ that is a connection and indication to the entire African-American community that has the power, strength and depth of an ocean. Black Lives Matter is a movement today that strives to create equality between the black community and society. People with a different coloured skin tone have been treated very differently from others throughout history and this is what Angelou refers to a lot in all her poems. Angelou strives for equal rights for the black community and that is why we have the Black Lives Matter Movement as others believe this too.

Language and tone of text to directly address the reader is another technique that has been used. She directly addresses the person reading the text by repeating ‘You’ again and again suggesting that ‘You’ has been used to address our society and the oppressor. The idea that these words like ‘Still I Rise’ shows that defeat is not an option for Angelou as she talks directly to her oppressors sayings that she will overcome anything that is thrown her way. She uses multiple different tones in her words like angry but comical, self confident and arrogant but sometimes even playful phrases directed at her oppressor well known as society. In stanza two she is sarcastic and sassy rather than naive and will not let the oppressor weigh her down with their words. Where in the fifth stanza  the text’s tone brings back her proud and confident attitude after her melancholy, dull tone in the fourth stanza.

To conclude, although Still I Rise is written about our society’s civil right issues and on black slavery this poem is also written for any individual that is experiencing or has gone through tough times. This poem is a declaration of hope for everyone in the world no matter how big or small their problems are we will rise over them.  

1. What is the poem about?

The poem ‘Bridges of Birmingham’ is about the death of the children of the church bombing in Alabama, 1963.

2. ‘She combed and brushed her night-dark hair.’

3. The words and phrases which make me realise the young girl was sweet/innocent/kind were:

‘Mother dear, may I go downtown instead of out to play’ because the fact she calls her mother ‘dear’ means she must be very close to her. 

What is the poem about?

The poem ‘Still I Rise’ is directly aimed at anyone that has or is experiencing challenging times. It is about being strong and confident no matter what has been thrown at you and that hope and self-belief is stronger than the hatred of our history.

Why do you think Maya Angelou wrote this poem?

I think she wrote it to address our history and that it is a reminder that we must rise over hard times we have experienced and continue to. 

In the final stanza Angelou repeats ‘I rise’ five times the effect of this repetition is?

The repetition of these words is aimed at us to show that no matter what anyone does she will continue to rise over everyones hate. 

‘You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still like air I rise’ is a metaphor and juxtaposition. These lines are putting two things together to compare the contrast of the violent, weighty and aggressive words that have been used. The quote ‘I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide’ gives Maya Angelou the power of a ocean with her strong words

Everyone’s emotions change with the seasons

The leaves turn from a lush green to orange, bronze and a golden yellow. It starts to get cooler in the mornings and frost covers the grass like a blanket, making a soft crunch when you walk over it. You start to think about waking up in the morning but instead of it being light outside it’s dark instead. You think of leaving the bus stop early in the morning on the bus, and how at that one moment before the bus reaches the main road, how everyone turns and looks out the left window to catch the first rays of sunlight spreading across the sky before the bus turns away. 

Kids turn up to school half asleep in puffer jackets and hoodies listening to music. We all walk around lazily from class to class watching our breath hang in the cool air. Once the sun has fully risen it melts away the frost and clears away the clouds, promising a sunny day with a cool winter breeze. Most of us are just waiting for the mountains to be topped off with a dump of snow so we can go skiing or snowboarding. Others are just waiting till school is over, for the weekend, or for Summer to return. But I don’t think any of us would mind being able to sleep in just a little bit longer. 

After three months the fluffy white snow starts to melt away on the mountains showing tussocks and rock, giving way to Spring and Spring gives way to Summer. Ski and snowboard gear is put away and togs, paddle boards and kayaks are brought out. People start planning trips for the Summer Christmas holidays like visiting family, going surfing or having a classic kiwi barbeque. Everyone is looking forward to not having to be bundled up in thick layers of clothes, and to finally be able to go swimming with their friends on our countries hot summer days. Ads on TV are showing deals for Christmas gifts so people drive out to the big cities to go shopping. Kids float down the river and jump off the bridge on the days where it feels too hot to stand. Boats are swarming the lake like bees, towing people behind on biscuits, waterskis and wakeboards. Every morning the sun burns through the clouds and we all get ready happily for another warm summer day, because everyone’s emotions change with the seasons.

The boy was sad:

The boy’s lower lip quivered and tears spilled over his eyelids. Silent salty tears trickled down his cheeks and fell off his chin. If you looked into his ocean blue eyes at that very moment you would see a thick fog of grief pass over them and settle in the centre. But you wouldn’t have gotten the chance, as his head was bowed too low so no one could see his pain. The boy was sad. 

It was a stormy night:

The children in the backseat watched the rain drops race down the cars windows. Lightning flashed outside in the shape of a fork and they counted how far away the center of the storm was. One second is one kilometre until the thunder comes. Suddenly the thunder roared so loud it would make a lion cower with fear and embarrassment. The roar died down until all you could hear was the pitter patter of the rain on the car roof.

Select the right word of the four below to complete each example of a literary technique.

1. The girl was shaking like a leaf.

2. The boy slept like a log.

3. The children crept as quietly as mice.

4. The icicle shone like the sun

Quietly, shaking, slept, sun

Metaphors describe something by saying it is something else.

1. The sun was a flaming golf ball in the sky.

2. The bear was a furry giant.

3. The teacher was an erupting volcano, exploding with lava.

4. Her hair was a silky blanket.

Giant, hair, flaming, erupting

Personification is giving an object human features or characteristics.

1. The wind whistled through the trees.

2. The daffodils nodded their yellow bonnets in the wind.

3. The refreshing pool cooled the holidaymakers.

4. The teapots danced on the shelves during the earthquake.

Yellow, teapots, cooled, whistled

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, not, or, so, yet).

Turn each simple sentence below into a compound sentence.

1 We ate lunch.

• We ate lunch and went for ice cream after. 

2 The rocket flew high.

• The rocket flew high and the moon grew closer.

3 Emily sang a song.

• Emily sang a song but not very well. 

4 The goldfish swims in the pond.

• The goldfish swims in the pond waiting for food. 

5 The party was fun.

• The party was fun and I had the best time.

6 On Wednesday Peter put his hand up in class.

• On Wednesday Peter put his hand up in class and got the answer right. 

7 Bert likes fruit for breakfast.

• Bert likes fruit for breakfast but especially strawberries. 

8 What is your favourite colour?

• My favourite colour is blue but I like red as well.

Technique	Definition	Example
Simile	A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid.	As brave as a lion.
Metaphor	A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally appropriate.	Laughter is the music of the soul.
Personificat-ion	The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human.	Lightning danced across the sky.
Onomatopo-eia	The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.	Cuckoo, sizzle, pop!
Hyperbole	Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.	I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Alliteration	The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.	A good cook could cook as much cookies as a good cook who could cook cookies.