Unveiling Resilience, Self-confidence, Oppression & Hope: A Transitivity Analysis of Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I’ll Rise”

Abstract

This research presents the transitivity analysis of the poem "Still I'll Rise" with a standpoint that the poetess has used an array of experiential metafunctions to communicate tenacity, resilience, self-confidence and hope. It employs Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics model as theoretical framework and Transitivity analysis as analytical framework. For analyzing the text, 38 clauses were extracted from the Angelou’s poem, “Still I’ll Rise” and these clauses were further broken down into process, process types, participants and circumstance, in order to examine experiential meaning. The findings reveal that the poem predominantly employs material and mental processes, which together account for over 75% of the total clauses, highlighting the poetess’s actions, thoughts, and emotional responses. Material processes, comprising 17 clauses, are central to portraying the poetess’s defiance and determination to rise above oppression. These processes symbolize her agency and resilience, vividly depicted through metaphors such as "dust" and "a black ocean." Mental processes in 15 clauses, reflect the speaker's inner thoughts, desires, and emotional strength, revealing her self-confidence and challenging the oppressive gaze of her addressees. Relational processes establish her connection with the struggles and dreams of her ancestors, encapsulating a shared legacy of hope and resistance, while behavioral processes accentuate her provocation against societal expectations of submission. This research highlights the significance of transitivity analysis in understanding how power, agency and emotions are expressed in literary texts, showing the impact of language choices in shaping meaning and social narratives.