Theme and Tone in "Still I Rise"

The themes in both, "Still I Rise" and "Sympathy", are very apparent. With such expressful words and phrases, both authors convey the true meaning and theme of each poem. In "Still I Rise", the reader sees the theme as self-respect. With phrases such as "You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes... but still, like air, I'll rise" (Lines 25,26, and 28), the reader sees that Angelou is explaining how someone …

…very defiant tone. Angelou displays this by giving such phrases as "Does my sassiness upset you?" (Line 5), and "Does my haughtiness offend you?" (Line 17). Both of these phrases express that Angelou has a sense of self-respect and defiance. Angelou also uses the term "Still I'll rise" (Lines 4, 12, 24, 30, 32, 36, 38, 41, 42, and 43) in the majority of her poem. Without using the words "might, possibly, or may", this means that she is defiant that she will overcome and rise above.