This essay analyzes Amanda Gorman's poem "The Hill We Climb," delivered at President Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. Drawing on Terry Eagleton's "How to Read a Poem" as a guiding framework, the essay examines Gorman's use of literary devices such as anaphora, enjambment, and allusion, as well as her central imagery of light and darkness. The analysis explores the poem's two major themes — hope and progress, and racial justice and strength — and situates the poem within its historical context, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
"The Hill We Climb" is a poem by Amanda Gorman that offers a moving portrait of the United States on the eve of President Biden's inauguration in January 2021. This essay reflects on the poem and the lessons it offers, using Terry Eagleton's How to Read a Poem as an analytical framework.
Gorman combines the imagery of light and darkness, hope and terror throughout the poem to symbolize the two contradicting sides of America — those who wish to divide and those who want to unite. Her portrait of the country is one still on its way to becoming what its founding language already claims it to be, rather than one that has been defeated or has failed. She wants to give her listeners hope that better days are ahead. The poet pleads that "we" — American citizens and anyone listening — be bold enough to "see" and "be" the light and hope that is coming.
This poem was performed on January 20, 2021, at President Joe Biden's inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. It was witnessed by millions on television and by only a select few in person, owing to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The poem encompasses the country's broader history, including the long struggle for and against equal rights, as well as more recent events from the preceding four years and the weeks leading directly up to the inauguration. These events include the murder of George Floyd, numerous police killings spanning recent years and decades, and the insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Gorman herself is the speaker in "The Hill We Climb." She references her own upbringing, personal objectives, and family at several points throughout the text. She describes herself as a "skinny Black girl descended from slaves," expressing pride that the turning of the tide on race in America has made it possible for her to read a poem before the President of the United States.
"Anaphora, enjambment, and allusion explained"
"Central themes of progress and Black history"
"The Hill We Climb" is a stirring call to action that explores themes of optimism, solidarity, healing, and resilience. The poem honors the United States not as a "perfect union," but as a country with the grit to confront its all-too-real problems. The central lesson of the poem is that progress does not come overnight; it is a lengthy and sometimes painful "climb" up the hill of justice that requires patience and humility. Change is difficult, as the speaker makes clear, but it is always possible: committed Americans can see — and be — the "light" of a better future.
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