Lantin 1

Maria Angela Raphaela Lantin

Ms. Deirdre Camba
LIT 14
April 22, 2016
Imagery in Maya Angelous Protest Poems
There is no single way to define poetry. The art of writing poetry is individual
expression, it is the manipulation of words in order to communicate ones feelings
and experiences. Poems employ the use of imagery to aid in conveying these
sentiments. Imagery appeals to the senses of the reader and utilizes figurative
language such as metaphors, similes, and the like, in order to do so. Creating
images is essential in a poem so that the author can express concepts as intangible
as emotions accurately enough for the reader to comprehend and even experience
the notions of the poem. Creative use of imagery in poetry adds depth to the words
and ultimately makes the readers experience of the poem more meaningful and
personal as each person interprets and visualizes things uniquely. The poem
becomes relatable to the reader by means of the imagery created since the reader
is able to create the image in their mind from having seen it, felt it, or experienced
it before.
The type of poetry this paper will focus on is protest poetry. A poem can be
classified under protest poetry when it addresses a certain problem in society and
expresses dissatisfaction with the situation. Poems written by Maya Angelou are
prime examples of such given that her poems touch on the themes of racial and
gender discrimination and the injustice of it all.
Maya Angelou was an African-American author, poet, and civil rights activist
branded as a spokesperson for the Black race. Angelou was deeply involved in the
civil rights struggle of the 1960s and with the publication of her book I Know Why
The Caged Bird Sings she became one of the first African-American women who
was able to publicly discuss her personal life and, an award-winning peoples
poet. Her works have been stamped as defense for the Black culture. Angelou
was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2011 and in the words of President Barack
Obama, Out of a youth marked by pain and injustice, Dr. Maya Angelou rose with
an unbending determination to fight for civil rights and inspire every one of us to
recognize and embrace the possibility and potential we each hold, with her soaring
poetry, towering prose and mastery of a range of art forms, Dr. Angelou has spoken

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to the conscience of our nation. By means of her poetry, Maya Angelou was able to
address both parties: touching the moralities of the Whites and empowering the
broken spirits of the Blacks.
Three of Maya Angelous poems will be discussed in the paragraphs to
follow: Caged Bird, Equality, and Still I Rise. It is important to understand
that the aforementioned poems do not only touch on the subject of racial
discrimination but also encompass inequity of other sorts thus the poems can be
interpreted in many different ways. This paper will discuss the poems in light of
racial discrimination only. The three poems convey discontented sentiments
towards inequality between the races, using imagery to further emphasize the
attitudes of the poems.
Caged Bird was written during an era of White supremacy, wherein Blacks
were inferior and their lives were characterized by unjust limitations that hindered
them from opportunities to make something of themselves. The entirety of the
poem is a metaphor, wherein both images of a free bird and a caged bird are
vividly described to bring to light the contrast of freedom between the two. It can
be assumed that the caged bird in the poem is a representation of the Black people
considering that during that period of time racial discrimination and segregation
was rampant and the Blacks were seen as inferior. The poem begins by painting
the image of a bird flying around, touching the waters and the sky, a bird with no
boundaries. The image created here is that of freedom, the bird rules the sky and
the bird can go wherever and do whatever it desires. However, there is an upset
tone within the words dares to claim the sky as if the persona is accusing the
free bird for having the audacity to claim the sky as if it is its own when really, the
sky belongs to no one. Similar to how the Whites, at the time, had the nerve to
dictate how people get to be treated depending on the color of their skin when
they had no right to do so.
The next image introduces the caged bird, creating contrast between the two
main metaphors present in the poem. The caged bird is trapped, his wings are
clipped and his feet are tied, so he opens his throat to sing. These lines express
that since the bird is restrained in every physical aspect, its only means of freedom
is through that of its voice. This illustrates the situation of the Black race as there
were tight limitations set specifically for people of their color, denying them
countless opportunities. Despite the restraints and unjust treatment they
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experienced, the Black people refused to be silent. They refused to let the Whites
take away the only freedom they had left which was the freedom to speak and to
be heard. The poem then moves into describing how the caged bird longs for
freedom. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for
still. The lines reveal to the reader that although the caged bird is afraid, because
of the oppression it has experienced, it continues to sing for the thing it most
desires which is the freedom that it has not had the privilege of experiencing
before. Being an African-American herself, Maya Angelou knows firsthand what it
feels like to be oppressed by society, to be denied the same opportunities that
Whites can take full advantage of simply because of the tone of her skin. She
makes these feelings known to her readers by way of the images of the caged bird.
The poem returns to the image of the free bird and continues to describe the
things the free bird can experience and look forward to which the caged bird
cannot. This further drives the point that the two birds are unequal. The lines the
free bird thinks of another breeze and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
illustrates the opportunities that have been granted to the Whites. Then the poem
goes back to the metaphor of the caged bird, the lines But a caged BIRD stands
on the grave of dreams present a harsh image of the death of its dreams which is
parallel to the death of the dreams of the Black people for the reason that they are
constantly having opportunities taken away from them.
Maya Angelous Caged Bird effectively expresses the sentiments of the Black
people who were downtrodden by the Whites during this period in time. The poem
not only brought attention to how unjust the situation was but it also empowered
the Blacks to continue hoping and fighting for their freedom. The line his tune is
heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom encourages the Black
people to make themselves heard because they will be heard for as long as they
speak for their freedom and this is the only way change can come about.
The next poem is Maya Angelous Equality. The imagery utilized in the poem
communicates the authors sentiments on what it is like to be looked at as lower,
and it urges the reader to understand and comprehend what she has to say.
The first stanza of the poem presents the reader with an image right off the bat.
You declare you see me dimly, through a glass which will not shine. The persona
is speaking directly to the reader. The image created by these lines conveys that
the reader can see the persona but not clearly enough and their vision of her will
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always remain this way. This connotes that although the persona is seen by society,
they do not see how their prejudice and actions towards her affects her, and by
saying that the glass will not shine, it implies that society has already decided that
this is how they will see things for the rest of time. Aside from accusing the reader
of not seeing the full picture, the persona faults the reader for admitting that they
are not hearing what the persona has to say. This is expressed in the lines you do
own to hear me faintly as a whisper out of range, while my drums beat out the
message and the rhythms never change. The sound produced by a drum is loud
and clear so when Angelou associates the concept of a drum with the
communicating of a message, it implies that the idea is being spoken loud enough
to be heard. However, to the reader, the loud beating of the drum, pertaining to the
voice of the oppressed, is merely a faint whisper that is out of range. A whisper is
already barely audible, so if it is uttered out of range why bother trying to hear it?
After acknowledging these truths that the reader does not know what the
persona is trying to communicate, the persona urges the reader to make a change.
Take the blinders from your vision, take the padding from your ears, and confess
you've heard me crying, and admit you've seen my tears. The image created by
these lines is that the blinders and padding are blurring and muffling the visual
and auditory senses of the reader thus debilitating the reader and limiting their
awareness. The lines communicate that the blinders and padding were placed
there on purpose to block out the crying and the tears of the persona inferring that
the reader had decidedly turned a blind-eye to the discrimination the persona is
experiencing. Angelou then revisits the image of the drum to further emphasize
her sentiments and the intensity of the personas desire to be heard. Hear the
tempo so compelling, hear the blood throb in my veins. Instead of appealing to the
readers visual senses, Angelou targets the auditory senses in order to convey the
passion of the persona to be heard and to bring about equality.
The final poem this paper will cover is Maya Angelous Still I Rise. Angelou
employs strong and vivid images in the poem that retaliate against discrimination
and empower those facing the same nightmare. Her words craft powerful images
to convey this message to her readers.
The poem begins by addressing the personas oppressors telling them that
although they have distorted her reputation (assuming the persona is a woman)
and those similar to her with prejudice and lies, they will not allow themselves to
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be defeated. This is expressed in the lines you may write me down in history with
your bitter, twisted lies, you may tread me in the very dirt but still, like dust, I'll
rise. Angelou uses the image of dust to impart this attitude given that when one
steps on dust, the stronger the force of the step the higher the dust will rise. It is
the perfect parallel to the attitude Angelou believes those who are oppressed, the
Black race in this particular context, must and do possess. Angelou forms similar
images throughout the entirety of the poem to capture the Black peoples defiance
of what is expected of them and their refusal to be persecuted. Just like moons
and like suns, with the certainty of tides, just like hopes springing high, still I'll
rise and You may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise achieve
this.
Angelou continues to use imagery to push the reader to visualize the attitude
kept by the Black people despite being scorned by society. She employs the use of
concepts associated with wealth and richness to describe the demeanor of the
Black people, such as having oil wells in their living room, gold mines in their
backyards, and diamonds in between their thighs. These images make clear the
strength and boldness of the black people despite being faced with cruelty. She
further emphasizes the attitude by illustrating contradictory images pertaining to
how their oppressors treated them and expected them to react. The lines you may
shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with
your hatefulness use harsh words to epitomize the hurtful actions of the Whites
toward the Blacks and the lines did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and
lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful
cries create the silhouette of a broken spirited person, which is the expected
response when someone is constantly being belittled.
The final stanza of the poem traces the struggle of racial discrimination back to
the past, letting the readers know that this is an age-old battle but still her people
will continue to fight. Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise, up from a past
that's rooted in pain, I rise. The personas dark past has shaped her and created a
force inside her hungry and strong for justice, I'm a black ocean, leaping and
wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Angelous reference to the ocean
serves as a powerful metaphor to describe strength in facing adversities. Like an
ocean, she cannot be stopped, she is ever-moving, and always adapting. The ocean
stretches wide, representing the amount of people who experienced oppression,
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and still are, and the combined desire of decades of people yearning for justice.
This hunger for change has become a colossal force that can only be described by
a metaphor as strong as that of the ocean. Leaving behind nights of terror and
fear, I rise, into a daybreak that's wondrously clear, I rise, bringing the gifts that
my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. The transition from
darkness to light depicted by Angelous words conveys the personas conviction to
help deliver her people out of discrimination and oppression. She makes a
reference to the gifts her ancestors gave which refers to not only their trials and
experiences, but their hopes for their people, which she has taken to heart and
valiantly assumed the responsibility of standing up for her people, being their
voice, and fighting for change to bring equality among the races.
As stated earlier in the paper, protest poetry calls attention to a certain
societal issue, in the case of these poems the issue is racial discrimination. The
images created in each of the three poems impart Angelous desire to bring justice
to the Black race. She successfully publicizes her sentiments towards the injustice
of discrimination through the images in the poems. Maya Angelou was able to
touch the lives of people all over the world who experience or witness racial
discrimination through her works. She takes a stand against racial discrimination
by describing how it feels to be oppressed and empowering the Black people by
means of vivid imagery, which qualifies the three poems to be deemed as protest
poems.
By analyzing Maya Angelous Caged Bird, Equality, and Still I Rise, by
way of the imagery created in the three poems, it can be said that Angelou
successfully expressed her sentiments towards racial discrimination and was able
to make a stand against it, bidding for change. Caged Bird presents two sides of
the spectrum, the free bird and the caged bird, to make the reader see the inequity
of the situation. Equality is a cry for change, urging the readers to abolish their
ignorance and open their eyes to the harsh reality that racial discrimination is
present and widespread. Finally, Still I Rise is Maya Angelou taking a stand. She
is telling the world that she, along with her fellow dark-skinned people, will never
give up fighting for the justice they deserve and she does this through by forming
powerful images throughout the poem to exemplify this attitude. Imagery creates a
tangible connection between the message of the poem and the reader thus making
it possible for the reader to understand sense of the poem. Again, in the words of
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President Obama, her soul-stirring words have taught us how to reach across
division and honor the beauty of our world. Maya Angelou made her mark through
her words and the legacy she left behind will never be forgotten.

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