LINGUISTIC CHOICES AND EMPOWERMENT: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF STILL I RISE BY MAYA ANGELOU

Abstract

The poem Still I Rise by Angelou is highly acclaimed due to its depiction of empowerment, resilience and also resistance of racial, and gendered oppression. The linguistic and stylistic characteristics of the poem are at the center of conveying these themes. The purpose of the research is to analyze the language choices made by Angelou in Still I Rise and identify repetition, diction, imagery, and syntax as tools of empowerment and support of the resilience and self-assertion. The qualitative type of research design was utilized, incorporating the stylistic analysis and critical discourse analysis. Lexical, syntactic and rhetorical patterns were examined in the poem and analyzed with the help of secondary scholarly sources to determine the socio-cultural and thematic meaning. The findings show that repetition, assertive diction, vivid imagery as well as syntactic variation together form a strong voice of empowerment. The poem does not just proclaim personal strength but it is also a symbol of general opposition and self-assertion. Still I Rise proves that the power of language and style can be used to create empowerment and make poetry both artistic and socio-political.