Still I Rise

Still I Rise - Maya Angelou

By Anna Sherfinski

​Read "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, then answer the questions.

​You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But, still, like dust, I'll rise.

​

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.​

​

Multiple Choice

The speaker's tone can be described as...

• happy

• angry

• scared

• confident

​Read "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, then answer the questions.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

​

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulflul cries?​

​

Multiple Choice

The poem suggests the speaker is addressing...

• someone who doesn't want them to be successful

• someone who is a member of their family.

• someone who wants the best for them.

• someone who is trying to teach them.

​Read "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, then answer the questions.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own backyard.

​

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'll rise.​

​

Multiple Choice

The speaker has a positive outlook because...

• they will not allow anything to stop them from laughing.

• they will not allow anything to hold them back.

• they will not allow anyone to let them go.

• they will not allow anyone to kill them.

​Read "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, then answer the questions.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

​

Out of the guts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,​

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.​

Multiple Choice

They speaker is suggesting that...

• the past has been embarrassing.

• the past has been rewarding

• the past has been bearable

• the past has been difficult

​Read "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou, then answer the questions.

​Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestorcs gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise.

I rise.

I rise.​

Multiple Choice

The speaker will rise above...

• waves

• oceans

• the past

• the night sky

Multiple Choice

Which statement expreses a theme of the poem?

• The speaker can get through anything they face, because they are naturally gifted.

• The speaker can get through anything they face, because they have a lot of support.

• The speaker can get through anything they face, because their parents did the same.

• The speaker can get through anything they face, because they believe in themselves.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best described the structure of stanza 2 and stanza 5?

Stanza 2: Does my sassiness upset you? / Why are you beset with gloom? / 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells / Pumping in my living room.

Stanza 5: Does my haughtiness offend you? / Don't you take it awful hard / 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines / Diggin' in my own backyard.

• A speaker asks questions and then describes all the valuable that he or she possesses.

• The speaker asks questions and then reveals something powerful about the way he or she acts.

• The speaker asks questions and then provides the answers that he or she wants to hear in response.

• The speaker asks questions and then uses nature to help illustrate how rich the world's resources are.

Multiple Choice

How does the repetition in stanza 6 contribute to the development of the poem's meaning?

Stanza 6: 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'll rise.

• It helps emphasize how no matter what happens, the speaker will not be kept down.

• It helps reveal that no matter what the listener thinks of themselves, they are a murderer.

• It helps demonstrate that even though the speaker is talking to one person, other people are listening.

• It helps illustrate that even though the speaker is talking to one person, they have many different enemies.

Multiple Choice

What is the meaning of the word "bear" as it is used in line 34?

Lines 33 and 34: I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, / Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

• to carry

• to curve

• to present

• to sink

Multiple Choice

What can the reader infer about the speaker from their conversation with the audience?

• The speaker is amused by people who do not realize what their life is really like.

• The speaker is tired of having to explain why they act the way they do.

• The speaker has had many people try to shake their confidence.

• The speaker has tried to forget the past but knows they can't.