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Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise”

Whereas Rich’s poem offers a narrative of descent toward self-discovery, Angelou’s poem offers an anthem of ascent toward self-empowerment. Thinking about these works together offers an interesting opportunity to compare different American feminist visions from the 1970s.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

The ancient Epic of Gilgamesh presents one of the earliest examples of a mythic narrative that involves a descent into the underworld. For this reason alone, it would be valuable to compare with “Diving into the Wreck,” which draws on a long tradition of such narratives of descent.

Dante Alighieri, Inferno

Dante’s Inferno offers another key example of the kind of narrative of descent that Rich both draws on and transforms in her poem. In the particular case of the Inferno, it’s worth noting that the protagonist’s horrifying descent into Hell is ultimately a journey of self-discovery. That is, Dante descends into the infernal realm in large part to receive a moral and theological education from his guide, Virgil.

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre ranks among the most classic stories of female self-discovery in English literature. Although the circumstance of nineteenth-century womanhood differed greatly from those of twentieth-century feminism, it’s nonetheless valuable to link Brontë’s novel to Rich’s poem, which may also be interpreted as a narrative of self-discovery.

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