Comprehension Check: Still I 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.

The speaker's tone can best be described as…

• happy

• angry

• scared

• confident

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

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

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

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.

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

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Out of the huts 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.

The speaker is suggesting that…

• the past has been embarrassing

• the past has been rewarding

• the past has been bearable

• the past has been difficult

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

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. I rise I rise I rise.

The speaker will rise above...

• waves

• oceans

• the past

• the night sky

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which statement expresses 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.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

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.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

In the poem "Still I Rise," which statement best describes the structure of stanza 2 and stanza 5?

• The speaker asks questions and then describes all the valuables 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

• llustrate how rich the world's resources are

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

In the poem "Still I Rise," how does the repetition in stanza 6 contribute to the development of the poem's meaning?

• 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.

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

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

• to carry

• to curve

• to endure

• to present

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4