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READ THIS
Maya Angelou takes a simple but poetic view of the process of aging. One of the important
things about
growing old, she says, is that the elderly are no longer forced to hold their tongues but may say
exactly
what comes to mind. They are also free to laugh as they please.
There are naturally the handicaps like dribbling and the brittleness of their bones but they
have
wonderful memories of a whole life to draw upon.
A NOTE ON THE POET
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in April 1928. Her life story is a remarkable one,
growing
up in poor circumstances and a victim of a shattered home.
She was raped by her mother's boyfriend when she was just eleven years old, an incident which
caused
her to become selectively mute for many years until she had her self-confidence and honour
restored to
her through the help of a friend.
Her shocking childhood, however, led to a struggle to maturity and she fell pregnant because
of her efforts
to prove she was a woman. Her marriages to both Tosh Angelou and Paul Du Feu ended in
divorce.
She nevertheless overcame all these disadvantages and found a niche on the stage and later
on the
screen, acting in several award-winning productions. She has also made a name for herself in
the arena of film directing.
Today Maya Angelou is renowned as a poet and writer, an actress and director, and was an
important
figure in the American Civil Rights Movement.
She is the author of 12 best-selling books and innumerable poems. Indeed, she is one of the
most prolific
Black authors of the modern day, and the recipient of numerous top awards. She also speaks
several
languages fluently.
She has been described as one of the great voices of contemporary literature and as a
remarkable
Renaissance woman because of her ability to overcome all obstacles and utilize her talents to
the full.
Despite her lack of any form of college education, she has lectured at several universities. In
1981 she
assumed a lifetime position as the first Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest
University. She has subsequently been awarded Honorary Doctorates from several leading
American
universities.
In January 1993 she was asked to read one of her poems at the inauguration of President Bill
Clinton, an
honour only happening once before and that to the great American poet, Robert Frost.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"They turn slowly, slyly knowing
the best and the worst
of remembering."
- Why would the old folks "turn slowly"? (2)
[Need help?]
Old age comes with its aches and its pains, and also with its unstableness. The old folks would
need to
turn slowly to avoid the pain of sudden movements, but also to avoid falling over.
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- What is "the best and the worst of remembering"? (2)
[Need help?]
One has happy memories and one has unhappy memories. Old folks have them both, and lots
of each.
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- Why does the poet speak about "slyly knowing"? (4)
[Need help?]
"Sly" means cunning or being deceptively clever. When one is old, however, one realises
that
memories - whether they be happy or not so happy - are simply memories. It no longer
makes any
difference whether they are happy memories or not so happy.
This is a deception, says the poet. This is being cunning or sly because we all think that the
quality of the
memory is important. The old folks then gain an advantage over us by reinterpreting their
memories as
being simply memories.
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"Saliva glistens in
the corners of their mouths,
their heads wobble
on brittle necks, but
their laps
are filled with memories."
- Contrast the factual nature of the first four lines above with the philosophical nature of the
final
two. (4)
[Need help?]
It is a fact of life that old folks can no longer control their saliva. They dribble. There is nothing
they can
do about it.
It is also a fact that their bones become brittle and break easily, and that muscles become weak
so that
the old folks' heads wobble.
What many people fail to see, however, is the wisdom that the old folks have, wisdom collected
from
decades of experiences.
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- Why is their wisdom said to be in "their laps"? (4)
[Need help?]
Traditionally, one's lap or sexual area is said to be the storehouse of wisdom. Why do you think
this would
be so?
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"When old folks laugh, they consider the promise
of dear painless death, and generously
forgive life for happening
to them."
- What would be the meaning of "dear" in these lines? (4)
[Need help?]
"Dear" could mean "expensive", as in "The cost is so dear". It could also
be a term
of affection used for a loved-one, as in "she is such a dear".
Is "painless death" expensive? Or is it something that all old folks would have an
affiliation for,
desiring it as if it were something very special?
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- When the poet says that the old folks "generously forgive life for happening to them",
is she
looking at life positively or negatively? (4)
[Need help?]
For a person to forgive someone, there must have been something negative involved. People
don't
forgive others for giving them something positive, like a present.
The poet is therefore looking at life in general in a negative way. She would appear to be
adding up only
the pain which life offers and which the old folks therefore forgive. She does not appear to be
summing
up the good things in life for which there is no need for forgiveness.
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Comment on the use of colloquialism in this poem. (4)
[Need help?]
Although the poet has used colloquialism only once - "hollers" - the entire poem
comes very
close to being colloquial.
The purpose of colloquialism is to get to the level of the people about whom one is talking, to
speak as
these old folk would have spoken, to imitate the social group about whom the poet is talking.
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