Maya Angelou’s poem “Human Family” she writes that there

are differences throughout the human family, however we are

more similar to one another then we are different. Angelou
addresses a variety of minute differences that can be seen
throughout the human family: personality, geographic location,
appearance, and nationality. Throughout this poem, she mainly
focuses on the differences that people have compared to one
another, however at the end she seems to ignore these
differences and comes to a realization that we are all actually
more similar than different.

The poem is written in mostly quatrains, with a rhyming pattern

of ABCB, with eleven stanzas in total. By understanding the
structure of the poem and the different topics it addresses, one
can also understand the simplicity of the poem. There are
different types of poems that will allude to certain ideas or
demonstrate deeper, hidden meanings, however in Angelou’s
poem she states simply that although there are small differences
between people in the “human family”, they must understand
that they are more alike than unalike. There are two specific
techniques that Maya Angelou uses, rhyming and repetition.
First, the rhyming allows for a flow throughout the poem and
ensures that all of the stanzas are moving towards the correct
meaning.

The rhyming also helps to occasionally further the idea of the

poem by specifically making the rhyming words opposites of
one another and therefore implying differences. Angelou uses
repetition towards the end of the poem, when she repeats the
line, “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” By
repeating this line, she is reiterating this idea and allows for the
readers to conclude the poem with this one line and meaning in
their head. It will possibly then allow for this idea to stay
relevant within themselves. Maya Angelou uses a variety of
techniques in this poem to demonstrate her beliefs regarding
the differences among the “human family.”

Along with being a poet and a singer, Maya Angelou was also a
well known civil rights activist. During this time she started to
become a serious writer and was joining writing guilds and
societies. However, after she heard Martin Luther King speak
she found a sudden calling to play a role in finding rights for all.
Although there was not any specific event that triggered the
creation of this poem, Maya Angelou was trying to spotlight the
lack of civil rights that African Americans were experiencing.
Like many other civil rights activists, Maya Angelou was
working to create equality among the “human family” and
wanted to ensure that all people had rights no matter what race
they were. This poem specifically addresses the differences
among people from around the world. First, Angelou writes
about how some people have different personalities, such as
being serious or comedic. She then writes about the different
skin tones that fill our world. Lastly, she discusses the different
geographic backgrounds that people may come from. After
addressing these small differences that people may have from
one another, Angelou spotlights the idea of people being more
similar to one another than not. By writing about the differences
that people may have and then addressing the idea that those
differences don’t matter and do not trump the similarities, she is
bringing to light civil rights and equality. She is trying to cause
people to ignore the differences and focus on the similarities. In
this case, she wants people to forget about the differences in
race or culture, and begin to understand that all people should
be treated equally because as she said, people are so much more
similar to one another then they are different.

Immanuel Kant believed that “beauty exists in the mind, not the
object.” He also believed that in order for someone to react to a
certain piece of art and consider it beautiful, then it must
stimulate their senses, emotions, and intellect. Maya Angelou’s
“Human Family” is beautiful to me because it made me curious,
wanting to ask more questions, and it absolutely stimulated
emotions. After reading this poem, the first idea that I was
contemplating was the main idea that Angelou was trying to
portray. After I understood that she was trying to teach the
world about equality by addressing our minuscule differences
compared to our abundant similarities, I was completely
shocked. The way it is written is so beautiful, specifically in the
way that it compares and contrasts the many aspects of our
world

This poem made me think about the time in which Maya

Angelou was writing it. She was a civil rights activist who was
trying to reach equality throughout the world. When I knew
more about Angelou’s background and her goals during this
time, the message of the poem changed drastically for me. It no
longer addressed the differences that fill our world in a negative
way, instead it focused on the small differences and large
similarities that could change our world for the better. This
poem sparks three emotions within in me, sadness, inspiration,
and hope. I first felt sadness as I understood that Maya Angelou
had to fight for her equality and was working to have rights for
herself and others. I was then inspired by the differences that
she wrote about because after reading the poem multiple times,
I just started to understand even more how small our
differences are in the “human family.” Lastly, along with
inspired, I was hopeful. I was hopeful because society has
moved closer to this goal of equality.

Although I personally think we do have a ways to go before

there is no discrimination and no stereotypes, I am hopeful that
our society has changed since Maya Angelou wrote this poem.
This poem gives me pleasure because it’s message helps to bring
light to the issues that our society is facing today. By writing
about the small differences that fill our world, and then
including that we are “much more alike than unalike,” it
demonstrates very well that we are quite similar and have
similar hopes and goals for the world.