# data[].attributes.headline
"Composing Our Country": A Look at Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem, "The Hill We Climb"

# data[].attributes.subject
"Composing Our Country": A Look at Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem, "The Hill We Climb"

# data[].attributes.body
English II Honors students:
Bryce Weber
Andrew Applegate
Jacob Christman
Nicole Cavaliere
Deidrian Montes
Claudia Barker
Maria Sanchez
Kayla Good
(professor) Mary Mathis

# data[].attributes.headline
Amanda Gorman Reads "The Hill We Climb," Her Inaugural POem, at President Joseph Biden's Inauguration, Jan. 20, 2021

# data[].attributes.subject
Amanda Gorman Reads "The Hill We Climb," Her Inaugural POem, at President Joseph Biden's Inauguration, Jan. 20, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
WATCH: Amanda Gorman reads inauguration poem, 'The Hill We Climb'

# data[].attributes.body
Intro/Biography:
Written by Claudia, read by Bryce

On January 20, 2021 Joe Biden took the oath of office and became the 46th President of the United States. During the Inauguration Amanda Gorman performed her poem “The Hill We Climb.” Amanda was 22 years old at the time of the inauguration and is the youngest inaugural poet ever. She took into account the current events that have been happening in our country and brought to light the message of unity.

Gorman was raised in Los Angeles, California, and was raised by a single mother.

Her mother was an English teacher, and Amanda learned to love poetry from a very young ag. She would spend her free time journaling.

Amanda was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles at the age of 16.

She graduated from Harvard University in 2020 with a major in Sociology.

Amanda continues to be a humanitarian activist today.

How did she prepare her poem?

Amanda read and studied previous inaugural poets.

She analyzed other famous speeches.

Amanda completed her poem “The Hill We Climb” the night after the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

She expressed the division that exists in our country and how we must strive to become unified.

Types of Poetry:

Lyric - form of poetry that expresses personal emotions, usually spoken in first person

Narrative - type of poetry that tells a story

Dramatic - a form of poetry that tells a story and connects the reader to an audience. An example of this would be a dramatic monologue.

Occasional  - a form of poetry that is written for a special occasion. Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem is a perfect example of an occasional poem.

# data[].attributes.body
Themes of passing the torch to the next generation are very prevalent throughout Gorman’s speech and can be seen in multiple instances. Lines such as…

·         “And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it.”

·         “We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour.”

·         “But within it we found the power to author a new chapter, to offer hope and laughter to ourselves.”

all illustrate to the audience that the future of the American spirit is dependent on the children of America.
However, the even more relevant theme of unity can be seen in nearly every line of the poem. The ones that stand out being…

·         “To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man.”

·         “We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.”

·         “Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.”

# data[].attributes.body
Physical Gestures:

Frequently uses hand gestures as part of performance

Adds meaning and gives the audience a deeper understanding of her message.

Uses two significant gestures in the line, "We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of herself becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one."

Pace of Delivery:

Gorman consistently varies her pace to exaggerate the crucial points.

As she slows her pace, it puts more emphasis on the content and message of those lines. By slowing down, it makes her crucial points more powerful and adds extra meaning for the audience.

Appearance and Body Language:

Gorman's yellow coat symbolizes joy, optimism, and friendship that reinforces her overall message of unity.

Her strong body language during her performance showed her confidence and pride in herself and the poem. This strong appearance makes her message and performance more influential.

# data[].attributes.body
Symbolism: the use of objects to represent ideas or qualities

In Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" symbolism is used to express ideas and qualities that the speaker herself does not directly describe.

"The Hill" represents the difficulties regarding building a safer, fairer, and more equal America.

Symbolism is again used when Gorman discusses the light and the darkness.

The term "new dawn" is used to symbolize Joe Biden's presidency.

# data[].attributes.body
Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

"Where can we find light in this never-ending shade"

The Hill itself also serves as a metaphor representing the difficulties creating a better America.

"The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.
We’ve braved the belly of the beast.”

Imagery: visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work
Types of Imagery:

Visual

Auditory

Kinesthetic (movement)

Olfactory (smell)

Gustatory (taste)

Examples in "The Hill We Climb"

1. Light/Darkness

2.  New Dawn

3. "When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?"

4. ""When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?"

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout “The Hill We Climb,” Amanda Gorman employs poetic devices/sound effects to capture her listeners’ attention. These devices often accentuate the significance of certain words or phrases, therefore enriching the meaning of the poem.

One device she uses is rhyming. An example of this is in her first two lines. In the first, the last word used is “shade”, and in the second the last word used is “wade”.

·       “When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry. A sea we must wade.”

·       Within these same lines, she also employs internal rhymes, rhyming “we” with “sea”.

Next is assonance, in which vowel sounds are repeated.

·       “When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade?”

Another device Gorman uses in the poem is alliteration, in which initial consonant sounds are repeated within the same line.

·       “We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.”

One additional sound effect used by Gorman is anaphora - the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines.

·       “Somehow we do it.

Somehow we weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.”

A final method used in “The Hill We Climb” is putting similar-sounding words close together for emphasis.

·       “We seek harm to none and harmony for all.”

·       The poet makes the same distinction when she writes:  “[what is considered] ‘just’ is isn’t always justice.’

# data[].attributes.body
Amanda Gorman's Recognition

Amanda Gorman's fame and popularity have skyrocketed

She has been the topic of numerous interviews and talk shows

She is the only poet to have ever been on the cover of Vogue

Cultural Impact on American Popular Culture

Poetry events and searches have spiked significantly on Eventbrite alone

A simple google search of "Amanda Gorman" brings up 24 million results

She broke the stereotype that poetry isn't cool, and isn't for young people

Cultural Impact on the American Mindset

Reinforced the message of hope

Perpetuates the assertion that prosperity through democracy is inevitable

Highlights the current problems faced, but assures our perseverance

# data[].attributes.headline
Personal reflection on the poem, by Maria Sanchez

# data[].attributes.subject
Personal reflection on the poem, by Maria Sanchez

# data[].attributes.body
The poem “ The Hill We Climb” by poet Amanda Gorman represents the feelings of a good part of the American population after an out of the ordinary year marked by every kind of event: a pandemic, protests, violence , riots, etc. With a hopeful glance to the future, Amanda depicts what for her is an historical moment, a point of inflection when many social changes could take place and many mistakes from the past could be amended .
After the year 2020, many of us experienced a feeling of instability and lack of safety. We have been through a year during which we feared for our own safety, mainly because of the danger that the pandemic represented to our health, but also because of the different manifestations of violence that took place during this year. About this, the poem states:

"We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it."

Amanda herself said that this statement was an allusion to the outbreak of violence that took place in the Capitol this year. But, could we say this was the only manifestation of “a force that would shatter our nation”? Definitely not. We could also link it to former events of violence against different groups in our society, because of their race, religion, or political opinion. Speaking from personal experience, I myself, as a Hispanic and a Catholic woman, could remark the violence against many Roman Catholic churches that took place last year, and the hatred manifested against a Hispanic heritage. My own parish had to take measures  to assure our own safety during our celebrations.
Another aspect of the poem  that I could remark is the dream of social justice that the author depicts. In her poem, Amanda states:

"Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid."

Reflecting on this, I could say that after experiencing a year marked by violence against different groups in society, we must  seek as a society to build a country in which no one has anything to fear, that is, a society that ensures safety to every human being, from the little child in her mother’s womb to the old man who lives in a nursing home. A society where no one would fear being harmed because of the color of their skin, or the features of their face.