Africa By Maya Angelou Analysis

The poem “Africa” by Maya Angelou seems to represent a woman and her beauty in the first stanza and then transitions into referring to the whole continent of Africa. Angelou describes the hardships of violence and slavery Africa has underwent over the years. She also refers to the fact the religion had been forced upon the people of Africa. Although Africa has been through a lot, it refuses to let that stop it from becoming a thriving continent. Africa will rise up and move on from these awful tragedies. Angelou uses language, repetition, and symbolism to show the hardships of Africa and the people who lived there. Angelou uses specific language to convey an empathetic message of the hardships and suffering that surrounded Africa. The first stanza suggests the poem is about a woman because Angelou uses the pronoun “she” and describes her hair and breasts, but she uses personification to create this image of portraying Africa as a beautiful woman. However, the metaphors she uses to describe them suggest she is referring to Africa as a whole. For example, she says, “deserts her hair” and “mountains her breasts” (Angelou 3, 5). …show more content…
Africa will overcome the slavery and violence that has tried to consume it. The continent will use its misfortunes as motivation to move forward and make a change. Angelou shows the reader how strong her emotions of empathy and anger are for the darkness that has taken over Africa. She feels empathy and sorrow for all those who have been traded as slaves or murdered during this time, and she is deeply angered by what the white people have done to this continent to destroy its peace. She has hope that Africa will be able to recover and move on from this evilness. Angelou uses language, repetition, and symbolism to convey to the reader the impact of slavery and violence on Africa and the hope for a better