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Angelou, Maya. "Song for the Old Ones." PoemHunter.com. N.p., 09 Mar. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

"Maya Angelou." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 05 Aug. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Angelou, Maya. "Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down." PoemHunter.com. N.p., 09 Mar. 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

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Personification- When a nonliving object is given human characteristics. "They nod like broken candles." (5) Candles don't move, they're just idle.

Imagery- descrittive language used in literature to recreate sensory experiences using our five senses. "They've laughed to shield their crying." (21) Here in this quote shows a very descriptive way of imagery and this quote shows how easy we can depict the reaction of those people in the event of the poem.

Symbol- A person, place or thing that stands for something beyond itself. "They nod like broken candles." (5) Here in this quote the word that shows a symbol is the candle because the candle symbolizes the slaves.

Theme- A central idea or message in a work of literature. In this poem the theme is survival. The poem talks about the harsh times for the slaves and how they have to survive.

Tone- An expression of a writer's attitude toward a subject. The tone of this poem is somewhat dark as it is the slavery years. "My Fathers speak in voices
that shred my fact and sound." (16-17) Here shows how dark the tone of the story is.

Voice- The personality of the writer coming through on the page. The voice of the author in the story is lonely and sad.

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Literary Terms ( Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down)

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Literary Terms ( Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down)

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Comparisons- In this poem Maya Angelou compares different types of women from other cities. "There's a long-legged girl in San Francisco." (1-2) "There's a pretty brown in Birmingham." (14-15)
-Imagery descriptive language used in literature to recreate sensory experiences using our five senses. In this particular poem, Maya Angelou describes different women from different cities. She has used many descriptive words to provide us a perfect image of every woman. "There's a pretty brown in Birmingham." (14-15) Here in this quote you can depict how a pretty brown woman looks like and how Birmingham, Alabama looks like.
Symbol- A person, place or thing that stands for something beyond itself. The symbol for this poem is the girls named in the each stanza. "I met that lovely Detroit lady and thought my time had come..." (27-28) Here in this particular quote describes how the author provides the city as a symbol of who the specific lady is.
Theme- A central idea or message in a work of literature. In this poem, the central theme is how a man went from city after city. Met specific type of women that he felt a love connection with.

Tone- An expression of a writer's attitude toward a subject. The tone of this poem is joyful as the man in this story is glad to have met each women. "There ain't no words for what I feel about a pretty face." (39-40)

Voice- The personality of the writer coming through on the page. In the poem the author provided a joyful and somewhat adventurous voice that helped the audience feel comfortable.

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In the poem, "Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down", the theme is that greed uses up many men when it comes to women. This is shown by a lot of people that the narrator would consider ..."lovely"...(Angelou, 18) yet the thought of being tied down drives him away. The line ..." Pickin em up and layin em down" ... is repeated a lot because it is meant to show the passage of time as he gets rid of 1 girl for another girl. The arrangement of this poem is arranged in lines that are even with 1 another which seems to emphasize the nature of the actions. The repetitive nature of his actions are emphasized by using the title repeatedly to represent a different time and place, but the same events occurring. During the time period that this play was written, women were beginning to get rights that they have never had before and with these rights comes the will to be treated right. Women were beginning to get rights that men have had for centuries, many men continue to treat women the way they always do or had, resulting in the theme of greed present in this poem. The poem is simply trying to say that even if men get what they want, they will seek more elsewhere due to the fear of limiting themselves. "Pickin Em Up and Layin Em Down" is a good representation of the attitude that possessed many men when dealing with women in this time period.

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In Maya Angelou's favorite poem she has written, "Song for the Old Ones", the primary theme seems to be her pride for her ancestors and her race as a whole. When she looks into her ancestors, she sees the..."chains and slavery's coffles"...(Angelou, 11) that bound her people and respects their ability to accept what happened. Although others have hurt her ancestors in the past, they continue to preach that..."It's understanding that makes the world go round"...(Angelou, 8) showing the wisdom that these elders have gained through their mistreatment. The structure of the poem is pretty standard and consists of stanzas that contain 3 lines each. Many of Maya Angelou's poems have patterns of repetition within them, but in this circumstance the only source of repetition is the line... "that makes the world go round"... which occurs at the end of both stanzas two and four. Just as the structure is basic, the meaning of the poem is also basic due to it being very literal.The meaning of the poem was to show that even those who were mistreated by white men only wanted peace, which during this time may have helped influence the campaigns for black rights taking place at the time. The poem's purpose is to bring to light the mistreatment of the ancestors in the African American community during a time when people such as Martin Luther King fought for black rights.   Maya Angelou's poem gives us insight into the mindset of many mistreated African Americans during a time when America was beginning to give African Americans rights previously unheard of for their people,

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Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. She was an author, poet, historian, songwriter, playwright, dancer, stage and screen producer, director, performer, singer, and civil rights activist. She was highly skilled at many awards for wonderful books she wrote. Mom & Me & Mom (Random House, 2013); Letter to My Daughter (Random House, 2008); All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes (Random House, 1986); The Heart of a Woman (Random House, 1981); Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (Random House, 1976); Gather Together in My Name (Random House, 1974); and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Random House, 1969), which was nominated for the National Book Award.

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My Fathers sit on benches
their flesh counts every plank
the slats leave dents of darkness
deep in their withered flanks.

They nod like broken candles
all waxed and burnt profound
they say 'It's understanding
that makes the world go round.'

There in those pleated faces
I see the auction block
the chains and slavery's coffles
the whip and lash and stock.

My Fathers speak in voices
that shred my fact and sound
they say 'It's our submission
that makes the world go round.'

They used the finest cunning
their naked wits and wiles
the lowly Uncle Tomming
and Aunt Jemima's smiles.

They've laughed to shield their crying
then shuffled through their dreams
and stepped 'n' fetched a country
to write the blues with screams.

I understand their meaning
it could and did derive
from living on the edge of death
They kept my race alive.

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There's a long-legged girl
in San Francisco
by the Golden Gate.
She said she'd give me all I wanted
but I just couldn't wait.
I started to
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
gettin to the next town
Baby.

There's a pretty brown
in Birmingham.
Boys, she little and cute
but when she like to tied me down
I had to grab my suit and started to
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
getting to the next town
Baby.

I met that lovely Detroit lady
and thought my time had come
But just before I said "I do"
I said "I got to run" and started to
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
getting to the next town
Baby.

There ain't no words for what I feel
about a pretty face
But if I stay I just might miss
a prettier one some place
I started to
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
Pickin em up
and layin em down,
getting to the next town
Baby.