Essays on Maya Angelou

One cannot discuss Maya Angelou’s “On the Pulse of Morning” without providing proper background concerning the context within which it came to be. The first emergence of the poem came in January of 1993 at Bill Clinton’s initial inauguration into the presidency. It was the…

In January of 1993, Maya Angelou became the first black woman – the first woman at all – to stand at the podium of a presidential inauguration as a speaker. It was a momentous occasion not only for her as a poet, but for America,…

Why a Caged Bird Sings Sweet Songs Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird” dramatizes the comparison between a bird that is free to make its flight and a bird that is denied. The caged bird, in response, sings from behind the bars of its cage to…

Her meaning of Persevereance It is a story of any young girl who was lost and disabled by the world and its cruel definition of beauty and success. A story of a girl who once felt ashamed to appear in the light, and a tale…

In “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, a speaker explains how no amount of poor treatment will keep her from achieving and living her life. Throughout the poem the African American female voice refers to someone in second person in a confident and almost mocking…