“Willie” by Maya Angelou is all about a man named Willie, based off of the speaker’s uncle, who just keeps on striving forward no matter what happens to him. In the face of all of society working against him he is always able to keep a positive outlook. This is evident when even after being subject to the racism of his bullies, he is able to reply, “‘You may enter my sleep, people my dreams, / Threaten my early morning’s ease, / But I keep comin’ followin’ laughin’ cryin’, / Sure as a summer breeze.’” These brief retorts that are full of complex imagery and unique craft add to Willie’s idea of standing tall no matter what.
The poem flows as an anecdote, where the speaker takes the reader through Willie’s everyday life, where people torment him every single day. The bigots who saw him “called him ‘Uncle,’ ‘Boy’ and ‘Hey,’ / Said, ‘You can’t live through this another day.’” The shortness of the bullies’ lines adds a certainty to it, …show more content…
Normally, each stanza gets five lines when telling Willie’s tale, but when he is expressing his own thoughts, each stanza gets four lines instead. This tiny change between stanzas highlights Willie’s traits as a simple man because he normally keeps his advice short and sweet. This is reflected in these lines too because his stanzas are always shorter than everybody else’s. Another noticeable quirk in the poem is when Willie states, “‘When the sun rises / I am the time. / When the children sing / I am the Rhyme.’” The “R” in rhyme was capitalised even though it is grammatically incorrect. This was most likely done in order to put a slight emphasis on it. This makes that final line even more powerful than the rest because it implies that “the Rhyme” is more than just words that have the same ending, but a sense of rhythm that all people have in their minds. Evidently, these choices in the speaker’s craft add a huge effect on the plight of
The poem flows as an anecdote, where the speaker takes the reader through Willie’s everyday life, where people torment him every single day. The bigots who saw him “called him ‘Uncle,’ ‘Boy’ and ‘Hey,’ / Said, ‘You can’t live through this another day.’” The shortness of the bullies’ lines adds a certainty to it, …show more content…
Normally, each stanza gets five lines when telling Willie’s tale, but when he is expressing his own thoughts, each stanza gets four lines instead. This tiny change between stanzas highlights Willie’s traits as a simple man because he normally keeps his advice short and sweet. This is reflected in these lines too because his stanzas are always shorter than everybody else’s. Another noticeable quirk in the poem is when Willie states, “‘When the sun rises / I am the time. / When the children sing / I am the Rhyme.’” The “R” in rhyme was capitalised even though it is grammatically incorrect. This was most likely done in order to put a slight emphasis on it. This makes that final line even more powerful than the rest because it implies that “the Rhyme” is more than just words that have the same ending, but a sense of rhythm that all people have in their minds. Evidently, these choices in the speaker’s craft add a huge effect on the plight of