Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou could have been writing her poem, "These Yet to be United States," with many different motives or messages. This work leaves the reader open to many different interpretations and viewpoints. The many underlying tones and possible themes that are implied by certain descriptions get the reader looking deeper into the true meaning of the poem. The main focus, however, is on the United States as a whole, the dominance of the government, and the effect on the children being born into this lifestyle. She also supports and develops her ideas with many different literary techniques.

The title of the poem is well chosen and leads in the right direction of the message and topic of the poem. It also allows tying certain ideas in the poem together, which may have been difficult to notice without having a title like the one Angelou used to describe the poem. It is saying, despite misconceptions and actions of the United States, it still cannot call itself "united" because of the way things work and how society is setup and run.

There are two main thoughts that could be formulated by reading the poem and analyzing any underlying meanings of certain phrases. One is pertaining to the topic of war and how the country handles itself and foreign affairs. The other is that the problem is internal and they way things are run are not copasetic to citizens and people living in the United States of America. However, these two separate thoughts can be tied together into a general consensus of the unhappiness and disappointment Americans have for their government.

With that basic idea of where Maya Angelou is going with this poem, the literary techniques and writing style can be analyzed a little further and applied to the main idea and message of the poem. The tone and diction of the poem, used in conjunction, is one of the more noticeable techniques that Angelou uses to strengthen the poem. The tone of the poem shows the somewhat fear and deep concern that arises in people