--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You may write me down in history with…" description: "\"You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise.\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png" --- # You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted… ![“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png) > “You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She declares resilience, rising above oppression and betrayal, likening herself to dust that cannot be suppressed. **In simple terms:** She will rise despite being mistreated. Key Takeaway Embrace resilience against adversity. Themes resilience empowerment overcoming oppression self-worth Mood defiant hopeful Type inspirational poetic When to use this quote - activism - self‑care - public speaking - creative writing Key Concepts civil rights personal strength poetic defiance Questions to Reflect On - How do you transform personal pain into strength? - What symbols best represent your inner resilience? A Different Perspective Oppression can wear down even the strongest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirt/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you-2/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [Sometimes God writes straightforward in twisted lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-trevi/sometimes-god-writes-straightforward-in-twisted-lines/) [Gloria Trevi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-trevi/) > [“I covered up my mistakes—with dirt, like you’d do with any other dead bodies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-covered-up-my-mistakes-with-dirt-like-you-d-do-with-any-other-dead/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You know I've never agreed with baths. Sittin' around in your own dirt like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-know-i-ve-never-agreed-with-baths-sittin-around-in-your-own-dirt/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“I don’t remember you being this bitter or twisted five years ago. What the hell has happened to you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-remember-you-being-this-bitter-or-twisted-five-years-ago-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Have you ever been in love? Stay well clear. It leaves you very bitter and very twisted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamzin-outhwaite/have-you-ever-been-in-love-stay-well-clear-it-leaves-you-very-bitter/) [Tamzin Outhwaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamzin-outhwaite/) > [For a while I thought history was something bitter old men wrote. But Jack loved history so ... for Jack history was full of heroes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-lee-bouvier-kennedy-onassis/for-a-while-i-thought-history-was-something-bitter-old-men-wrote-but/) Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis > [History -- its what those bitter old men write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-its-what-those-bitter-old-men-write/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have not always been wrong. History will bear me out, particularly as I shall write that history myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-have-not-always-been-wrong-history-will-bear-me-out-particularly-as/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [ Intellectuals (in the standard sense of the term, not \[ Edward\] Said's prescriptive sense) are the people who write history. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/intellectuals-in-the-standard-sense-of-the-term-not-edward-said-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“You are the author of your own destiny; write yourself into history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/you-are-the-author-of-your-own-destiny-write-yourself-into-history/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Who will dare to write a history of human goodness?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/who-will-dare-to-write-a-history-of-human-goodness/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Great steps in human progress are made by things that don't work the way philosophy thought they should. If things always worked the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/great-steps-in-human-progress-are-made-by-things-that-don-t-work-the/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Those in power write the history while those who suffer write the songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-harte/those-in-power-write-the-history-while-those-who-suffer-write-the/) Frank Harte > [I cannot understand why some people try to write a history of photography that is separated from the history of modern art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-chevrier/i-cannot-understand-why-some-people-try-to-write-a-history-of/) [Jean-Francois Chevrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-chevrier/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I'll rise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lines-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bitter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lines-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/383/maya-angelou-104_bitter_you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-yo_1550768.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You may write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lines. You may trod me in the very dirt, but…” — Maya Angelou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You may write me down in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lines-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lines-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```