Context

This line is from the poem "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou (1978).

This is the second stanza of Maya Angelou's most famous poem. The speaker has entranced us with her point of view and the challenges of her situation, and leaves us with this powerful statement of pride and purpose.

We like this speaker right away. Why? She's defiant, but not totally in-your-face. She simply rejects the idea that her ancestry or her skin color can dictate how she is supposed to feel. Society expects her to have a "bowed head and lowered eyes," but instead, she leaps like an ocean, and dances like she's got legs made of diamonds. She really sounds like someone we'd like to invite to a party.

Where you've heard it

When people are talking about African-American history or beautiful poetry, this poem tends to come up.

Check out the author herself, Maya Angelou, reading this poem aloud.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Despite the fairly playful tone of the poem, it's still dealing with some big issues. Let's just say it's not the kind of thing you want to drop at your next dinner party if you're trying to keep it light. Still, we can't call it too pretentious. The speaker's voice is never overly serious, and all she wants to do is dance. And rise, of course.