Question

the poem When I think about myself by Maya Angelou utilizes hyperbole, understatement, and verbal irony. Give an example of two of the above literary devices (hyperbole, understatement, and/or verbal irony) from the poem. Explain how each device contributes to the poem's overall meaning. Be sure to give at least two specific examples/quotes from the poem in your response (one per literary device). Write at least a full paragraph.

When I think about myself, I almost laugh myself to death, My life has been one great big joke, A dance that's walked A song that's spoke, I laugh so hard I almost choke When I think about myself. Sixty years in these folks' world The child I works for calls me girl I say 'Yes ma'am' for working's sake. Too proud to bend Too poor to break, I laugh until my stomach ache, When I think about myself. My folks can make me split my side, I laughed so hard I nearly died, The tales they tell, sound just like lying, They grow the fruit, But eat the rind, I laugh until I start to crying, When I think about my folks.

Answer 1

Two strong examples are the hyperbole in the line “When I think about myself, I almost laugh myself to death,” and the verbal irony in “My life has been one great big joke.” The hyperbole—claiming laughter so extreme it could kill her—exaggerates the speaker’s reaction to her own life and emphasizes how she copes with hardship through laughter; it shows that humor is not trivial but a powerful, visceral response that keeps her going and makes suffering bearable. The verbal irony of calling her hard, constrained life “one great big joke” likewise masks pain with a joking tone: she states the opposite of what the troubles and humiliations (being called “girl,” working for others, poverty) would normally inspire, so the line exposes bitterness and resilience at once. Together these devices deepen the poem’s meaning by showing that laughter and ironic speech are survival strategies—ways the speaker preserves dignity and transforms humiliation into strength.