Still I Rise

1. B. The reader expects four-line stanzas, just as the “you” in the poem expects the speaker to remain oppressed. The expectations of both are thwarted by the poem’s structure and the rising of the speaker. (Stanzas 7, 8, 9)

2. C. The repetition of “I rise” shows the speaker’s triumph over her oppressors. (Stanza 9)

3. D. Most of poem functions with an ABCB rhyme scheme. When the final two stanzas break the scheme, the tone shifts from mockery to triumph. (Stanzas 8, 9)

4. A. The speaker’s rhetorical questions mock her oppressors, as if she’s daring them to answer her as she triumphs over them. (Stanzas 2, 4, 5, 7)

5. B. In addition to the trade of enslavement, colonists plundered Africa for its diamonds. (Stanzas 7, 8)