Maya Angelou Research Paper
Maya, a Poetic Angel
Just one person can have an evident effect, good or bad, on the lives of many people. One person who has influenced the lives of millions is Maya Angelou, a world-renown African-American author and poet. She has battled with struggles such as racism, sexism, and prejudice all of her life. Angelou quotes, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” With her courage and determination, Maya Angelou has influenced the evolution of modern poetry and has promoted justice for the African-American race. Through her variety of talents, Maya Angelou has greatly influenced America and taught her struggles of growing up as a young …show more content…
Angelou has lived the life of many different black women and in many different worlds throughout her lifetime. She has known poverty and richness, has been mute and speaking, has been a child rape victim and a teenage mother, has read in church and before head of state, and has worked as an actress and a poet (Angaza). Because Angelou has gone through and experienced so much in life, she can relate to any hardships America is facing at the time because she understands what it is like to be poor and to feel lost. Through her many autobiographies, she has faced her past and has regained confidence in herself. Angelou has developed from a young girl who was afraid to talk into a mighty woman who speaks seven languages and refuses to stop speaking through her speeches, interviews, plays, books, and poetry (Williams 44). Angelou’s silence in childhood was the training ground for the writer, speaker, and singer she would one day become. While she was not speaking, she was listening and reading which enchanted her with language that did not punish her but loved her back. The exquisite diction and cadence in her poetry has stemmed from her studying great literature. Angelou has become beautiful in word and in flesh by her powerful speeches and sensuous writing. Starting out as a mute girl who hated her appearance, Angelou has grown to become a majestic woman who strives for boldness rather than perfection
Just one person can have an evident effect, good or bad, on the lives of many people. One person who has influenced the lives of millions is Maya Angelou, a world-renown African-American author and poet. She has battled with struggles such as racism, sexism, and prejudice all of her life. Angelou quotes, “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” With her courage and determination, Maya Angelou has influenced the evolution of modern poetry and has promoted justice for the African-American race. Through her variety of talents, Maya Angelou has greatly influenced America and taught her struggles of growing up as a young …show more content…
Angelou has lived the life of many different black women and in many different worlds throughout her lifetime. She has known poverty and richness, has been mute and speaking, has been a child rape victim and a teenage mother, has read in church and before head of state, and has worked as an actress and a poet (Angaza). Because Angelou has gone through and experienced so much in life, she can relate to any hardships America is facing at the time because she understands what it is like to be poor and to feel lost. Through her many autobiographies, she has faced her past and has regained confidence in herself. Angelou has developed from a young girl who was afraid to talk into a mighty woman who speaks seven languages and refuses to stop speaking through her speeches, interviews, plays, books, and poetry (Williams 44). Angelou’s silence in childhood was the training ground for the writer, speaker, and singer she would one day become. While she was not speaking, she was listening and reading which enchanted her with language that did not punish her but loved her back. The exquisite diction and cadence in her poetry has stemmed from her studying great literature. Angelou has become beautiful in word and in flesh by her powerful speeches and sensuous writing. Starting out as a mute girl who hated her appearance, Angelou has grown to become a majestic woman who strives for boldness rather than perfection