A Study of Endurance and Aspiration in Maya Angelou’s Poems The Caged Bird (1968) and Still I Rise (1978)

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1994) manifests that Maya Angelou’s personal consciousness and public awareness sharpened her poetic capabilities. She used art to communicate the pathos and joys of her evolving spirit. This research paper explores the elements of survival, that is, endurance and aspiration in her poetry. The only freedom she enjoyed was the freedom to write which was rooted in her mind and not curbed by societal forces. The rationale of this paper is to trace how personal struggle and the quest for self-sustaining dignity in Maya Angelou’s poetry serves as an aspiration for America’s black community. Her cerebral autobiographies manifest her struggle for survival in a hostile and racist social environment and her poetry reflects the same. The objective of this research is to locate the motifs of endurance and aspiration in two of her poems namely The Caged Bird (1994) and Still I Rise (1994) from her anthology of Complete Collected Poems (1994). Caged Bird has become legendary due to the use of strong images, dichotomy and masked metaphors. Through these devices the poetess depicts her span of fragile development. As she grows physically and emotionally she discards her old mask and in Still I Rise, she presents her self-image with courage. The lyrical qualities of both poems provide soothing and healing power to the black community. In the light of the current analysis, this research paper concludes that the ultra fine resonance with repetition in Angelou’s poetry generates strong emotions. At the same time, it becomes a mode of free expression and endurance for the poetess. Furthermore, the outcome of this research is that it traces the dynamic elements of aspiration in her poetry through which she gains a voice, a voice to address her pathos with a modulated tone and to introduce the tools for productive survival.