'The Hill We Climb'

Amanda Gorman performed this incredible poem on 20th January 2021 at Joe Biden's inauguration and I think it's safe to say that her message of hope, unity, and justice stole the show, leaving everyone astounded by her great talent!

I'm not going to post the whole poem here as it is very long, but also because I think you have to listen to her reading it in order to gain the heightened sense of empowerment that was breathtaking as she read it. You can watch her performance here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/amanda-gorman-poem-biden-inauguration-transcript

So now that you have watched it, you might be left feeling as I did; completely spellbound and enthralled by the power of her words. I think they were made even more pertinent due to the Black Lives Matter protests that have been going on for the past year as the poem references this fight and struggle, highlighting how it is not always easy, but with unity and hope, justice will be achieved.

I'd first like to focus on the title of the poem, 'The Hill We Climb', as I think that we can learn a lot about the content of the poem from it. The first thing that struck me was the use of the pronoun "we" which immediately brings forward the message of unity and community that is so important, not only in her poem, but I think also for many Americans who are seeking some peace and harmony, especially after the storming of the Capitol a couple of weeks ago. Another interesting thing to note is the use of the present tense as, without us even realising, we get the sense that this climb has been going on forever, and is still continuing, giving a timeless quality to the poem to suggest that the struggle for justice and equality has been being fought for a long time, and will continue being fought and, although it will not happen overnight, eventually the 'climb' will stop because the top has been reached. So this brings us to the idea of the "hill", which in its metaphorical sense, evidently alludes to the world's overcoming of obstacles to continue to fight for unity and happiness, but also, if taking into consideration more recent events, could reference the storming of Capitol Hill, again highlighting how there are more obstacles to overcome before a true democracy can be reached.

So when we were discussing this poem in the Literary Society at school, a question that cropped up was, is it a poem or a speech? Now you might have noticed that I have been referring to it as a poem throughout this piece of writing because I believe (as well as the other members of LitSoc) that it simply is a poem; although it doesn't follow a strict form, interspersing many different forms, it definitely has a sense of rhythm which strongly comes across when listening to her performance of it. Not only this but listening to the words and the way in which each syllable was used so effectively with assonance, alliteration, half-rhymes, internal rhymes, and puns, shows the extent of her craft as a writer, giving it more of a sense of a poem than a speech. Although speeches obviously take a lot of care and consideration, I just don't think that when writing a speech, the aspects that I mentioned before are quite so carefully looked at as when writing a poem, so it is this element of the elevated writer's craft that really makes me believe it to be a poem. I do think, however, that this liminality between it being a poem or a speech does serve to make the poem even more potent as it has that empowering nature of a speech whilst being a beautiful piece of writing and thought which leaves those who have heard it with an extra feeling of awe.

If you have watched (or read) the poem, then a few parts of it may have stuck in your mind - for me, it was the words "just is isn't always justice" as, not only are they extremely pertinent in today's world, but I loved the simple way she manipulated the sounds, something which she continues throughout the poem, as it shows the extent of her craft as a writer while making it stay in your head, something that (for me) always marks the sign of a fantastic poem. I think she uses this poetic device extremely effectively in order to accentuate the key points and messages she is trying to convey, such as in the lines "because being American is more/than a pride we inherit./It's the past we step into and how we repair it". The rhyming couplet here serves to emphasise her message of healing and unity as it marks this moment in the poem as one of much importance, making us more likely to remember what she was saying and carry this message with us.

Another aspect of the poem that was perhaps my favourite part was her use of the anaphora "We will rise" in the last stanza. Evidently, this is used to accelerate the pace of the poem as it reaches its climax, but it also is a clear reference to Maya Angelou and her poem, 'Still I Rise'. This literary reference is so pertinent as it exacerbates Gormon's message in the poem that, although justice for people of colour has come thus far, with the changing of the pronoun "I" to "we", implying a greater sense of unity, there is still a way to go in the future, hence the modal verb "will", to suggest the on-going fight. There is also a historic reference as Maya Angelou performed at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993, and this tribute to her could give a message of hope that they will continue to perform and be heard; Gorman was not the first, and she will not be the last, inspiring other children of colour to have big dreams and go for them as they might just come true.

This is by far my favourite poem: it is complex, it is awe-inspiring, and it promotes such important and pertinent messages for today's society which make it even more beautiful. I could write so much more about it and the images she employs, but I hope that you enjoyed reading my post, and please do share the link to my blog as it would be incredible if I could be able to share it with more people! I will leave you with the last few lines of the poem:

"For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it."