How does the writer succeed in challenging her oppressors? Talk about the way the poet uses questions and the way the poem is structured.

The speaker is Maya Angelou, as she is speaking from her own perspective and experiences as a black woman. She also addresses a third person who is not the reader and challenges him/them to answer her questions. She alternately interrogates and taunts the unspecified"you" in the poem, holding this person/people accountable for terrible actions while also proclaiming that she will overcome the challenges he/they have imposed.

The poet's challenges to those she addresses are often ironic. One of these ironies is the fact that in trying to oppress her, the oppressors are actually giving her the strength and will to survive. For example, she tells them, "You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise." Treading her into the dirt is intended to stop her from moving forward. But it has the opposite effect, merely strengthening her resolve and making her rise higher than ever. The refrain "I rise" shows her continued resistance.