Hijab Scene #7 vs Still I Rise

The autobiographical poem,’Still I Rise,’ by Maya Angelou and the free-verse ‘Hijab Scene #7,’ by Maohja Kahf are trying to prove similar points: highlight examples of stereotypes to do with their native backgrounds and challenge them. Maya Angelou is from an African-American black background whereas Maohja Kahf is from a Syrian-Islamic background, and people have heightened Islamophobia in a post-9/11 Western context. This essay will compare these two poems, in numerous factors such as: structure, language and theme.

Firstly, both the poems use varied styles of repetition to prove their points. An example of this shown in Hijab Scene #7 is,’No, I’m not bald under the scarf / No, I’m not from that country where women can’t drive cars.’ The anaphora used in these 2 lines of ,’No, I’m not.’ with the caesura underscore the point twice through the use of negation that Kahf is trying to make concerning the subversion of stereotypical ideas. This example is specifically to do with Muslim women, because people think that women in Islamic countries cannot drive cars. Similarly, verse six of Still I Rise states,’You may shoot me with your words/ You may cut me[…]But still, like air, I’ll rise.’ The directly addressing anaphora of ,’you may,’ along with harmful verbs afterwards in this stanza implies that Angelou will still fight racial abuse and stereotypes, no matter how much she is criticised. This is also shown by the adverb,’still,’ and the simile. However, Still I Rise uses much more rhetorical questions, especially when Angelou directly challenges the reader about one of her characteristics with imagery related to money. This is shown in the quote,’Does my haughtiness offend you?/‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines.’ Through the use of the simile, Angelou shows that she is confident and has self-belief inside her. This is because gold mines are a symbol of wealth and nobility, despite the stereotypical belief that black people are denied economic opportunity. Ultimately, Kahf stays literal as she may be misinterpreted due to misinformation about Islam but Angelou exaggerates wealth to resist the direct racial abuse that she receives as shown by the anaphora of,’You may.”

However, the structure of these poems is very contrasting: in Still I Rise, there is a fixed rhyme scheme for the first seven verses(ABCB), with the Bs occasionally having the sound ‘-ise-‘, for I’ll rise, resembling the title of the poem. These first seven verses include: her directly challenging the reader with rhetorical questions,’Does my sassiness upset you?’ responding to them with powerful wealth-related imagery,’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells.’ and anaphora,’You may.’ The volta of the poem is after the seventh verse, where the rhyme scheme and overall feel of the poem changes. In the 8th and 9th verses, rhyme scheme is ABABCC(3 more Bs in 9), ending with a rhyming couplet and the Bs being enjambment for ‘I rise.’ The tone is more uplifting in these verses following the volta. I know this because the rhyming couplet in the eighth verse is ,’I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide.’ The metaphor along with the motivating present participles show that Angelou’s tone has changed drastically from defiant to motivated, since an ocean is powerful and leaping. This is also resembled at the end of the last stanza: the triple anaphora and enjambment of,’I Rise.’ She might have done this in order to captivate the reader: prove her point more simply that she has stated throughout the whole poem. Kahf’s poem is more free verse: it has no stanzas and has less structure overall. She uses anaphora at the start, along with irony and a rhetorical question, which takes up 4 lines. So Kahf’s structure is a lot more basic than Angelou’s, whose poem is a lot longer. The contrast in structure matters because Angelou’s reflects hope and progress through the rhyme scheme, Volta, couplets and enjambment of ‘I Rise,’ towards the end. Kahf’s lack of structure symbolises that there is ongoing tension and no solution to Islamophobia.

Finally, these two poems have similarities and differences to do with their themes. Kahf presents her views using an angry, satirical tone as shown in the quote,’No, I would not like to defect. I’m already American. But thank you for offering.’ Through the use of an ironic last sentence, Kahf implies that she is fed up about people making assumptions about her, since she satirically mocks the stereotype that she is not American. In spite of that, Angelou expresses her feelings strongly through the use of a moderately similar tone: defiant and confident. This is because she challenges the reader directly seven times through the use of rhetorical questions:’Does my sassiness upset you?/Did you want to see me broken?[…]’. The second rhetorical question creates tension on the reader, making them wonder if they wanted Angelou to suffer from racial discrimination, through the use of the verb,’want,’ and the adjective,’broken.’ Overall, the tone in a poem shapes how the reader responds. Kahf wants to confront, whereas Angelou wants to celebrate resistance.

In a nutshell, Angelou’s poem is more didactic: she represents pride and resilience, especially after the volta. However, Kahf exposes ignorance and discomfort in her poem to make the reader feel uncomfortable and change how they respond. Overall, they both highlight examples of common stereotypes and look to sublimate them.