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Acknowledging Inequality: Critical Analysis of Maya Angelou's Poem, "Equality"

Maya Angelou's poem "Equality" addresses ongoing issues of racial and gender inequality from the perspective of a black woman. The speaker uses imagery of drums to represent the continuous messaging against oppression that has existed from slavery to the present. While the poem was published in 1990, its themes of acknowledging and ending social injustices between black and white people and men and women remain highly relevant. Through its shifting pronouns and accusatory tone, the poem calls for society to recognize discrimination and take action to establish equality.

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368 views2 pages

Acknowledging Inequality: Critical Analysis of Maya Angelou's Poem, "Equality"

Maya Angelou's poem "Equality" addresses ongoing issues of racial and gender inequality from the perspective of a black woman. The speaker uses imagery of drums to represent the continuous messaging against oppression that has existed from slavery to the present. While the poem was published in 1990, its themes of acknowledging and ending social injustices between black and white people and men and women remain highly relevant. Through its shifting pronouns and accusatory tone, the poem calls for society to recognize discrimination and take action to establish equality.

Uploaded by

John Bee
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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John Bernard D.

Riofrio 12-STEM Critical Essay

Acknowledging Inequality: Critical Analysis of Maya Angelou’s


Poem, “Equality”

Equality, by Maya Angelou, was published in 1990, but the message and themes
remain relevant today. The speaker, a black woman, addresses the unequal
treatment of men and women in the poem and raises her voice to end the
inequality. As a result, the imagery in Angelou's poem depicts social oppression
between black and white, men and women, and asks everyone to acknowledge
these racial and gender issues and encourage them to make a change.

The speaker addresses its oppressor in the first verse of the poem, "You declare
you see me dimly through a glass which will not shine." This shows the idea of
women being seen but does not embody their presence in society. Furthermore, it
says in the next stanza, "You do own hear me faintly as a whisper out of range,"
implying that they are barely seen or heard as much as their intentions.

"While my drums beat out the message, and the rhythms never change," Angelou
says referring to a continuous cycle of inequality between the races and sexuality.
The visual representation of the use of drums conveyed a hopeful message, which
can be traced back to the days of slavery when blacks uses percussion instruments
to share their stories.

The poem's rhyme scheme is interrupted by a repeating message, "Equality, and I


will be free," which calls for an end to the inequality that black women face.

The poem became more accusatory as it progressed. "You proclaim my ways are
wanton, that I fly from man to man," demonstrates how the oppressor accused the
speaker of something immoral. Despite this, the speaker did not deny the claim,
but instead asked, "but if I'm just a shadow to you, could you ever understand?"
The speaker describes herself as a "shadow" in the oppressor's eye, which makes it
difficult for them to understand and judge their situation despite the distance
between them.

The pronoun "I" is replaced by "we" in the following verse as the speaker
addresses a group of people as a whole, the African-American Community. "We
have lived a painful history; we know the shameful past," means that the inequality
continues to this day. The speaker uses "I" for women and "you" for men and
claims that they are failing to recognize discrimination and are falling behind in
putting an end to it.

In the last verses of the poem, the speaker wants everyone to acknowledge the
issue of inequality therefore that they can take action and do something about it.
Angelou states in the poem's final lines that the rhythm of her drums never changes
with time, implying that her desire for equality will continue until it is achieved.

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