Summary
Can hope still be found in America today? This question is what the first few lines of "The Hill We Climb" asks the audience to consider. The nation has survived a long period of tumult, leading to grief and a "loss we carry." The nation has seen many systems of injustice, from overt instances of discrimination to subtler forms of inequality, situations characterized by apparent peace with discord lying just below the surface. Through these experiences, America as a nation has learned and is able to recognize signs of unrest, however small. The reason this nation has been able to survive, however, is by recognizing that the nation is imperfect and "unfinished." In other words, the people of this nation have not given up on it, no matter how "broken" it may seem.
Gorman continues by emphasizing her own connection to the past: as a descendant of slaves, her ancestors have "weathered" the worst of American history, but generations later, their descendant finds herself performing in front of millions of Americans. This nation is not perfect, but Gorman emphasizes that perfection is not the goal for the country. Instead, "we are striving to forge a union with purpose." America is not a utopia, but by attempting to forge ahead with meaning and good intentions, we can make it a nation that serves its people, from all backgrounds and experiences.
The way forward from a divided America is unity, with Gorman urging that we "close the divide" and "put our future first." Instead of focusing on individual differences, America should focus on collective change. Gorman views this as the only path to a more perfect union. This poem does not advocate for war or violence, but instead for peace, community, and equity. Through every previous obstacle, the American people continued to push for change, and their hopes for the future should inspire current generations to climb the hill of progress.
With each American generation, national identity is inherited and interpreted, but this weighty inheritance does not stop there. Instead, Gorman asks us to consider the rights and wrongs of the past and simultaneously move into the future. America is resilient, and its founding principles of freedom and democracy might sometimes be threatened, but they can never be "permanently defeated." These lofty ideals may be grand and intimidating, but although the present generations of Americans might not feel up to the task, Gorman emphasizes that it is our responsibility, and that the world, history, and the future are all expecting resilience and courage.
The poem ends by emphasizing how America is strong but kind, broken but whole, and the people from all corners of its land will contribute to this great and proud experiment. Although the stakes are high, although future generations will have to endure our failures, it is bravery and courage that matters most in the end. It is the willingness to fail and the beauty of our eventual victory that ends this poem.
Analysis
"The Hill We Climb" starts with a question, a challenge to the Americans listening to this poem delivered at the 2021 inauguration of president Joe Biden: where can we find light in this "never-ending shade?" The "shade," which refers to grief, violence, and the national trauma of the recent years in American history, is an ever-present metaphor, both starting and ending the poem. The image of the "dawn" corresponds with the inauguration of a new president, where a night of national division and darkness has now passed. However, Gorman is careful to emphasize that light still needs to be found, despite the appearance of day. "Light," or hope, needs to be found within the American people themselves. Gorman describes Americans as "aflame and unafraid," linking the image of light with the quality of bravery, but also emphasizing that we need to "step out of the shade"—to make a choice to emerge from the darkness that previously engulfed us. The poet suggests that although the new president represents hope, that is not in itself enough: the American people must still rise to the occasion and heal the country.
The poem continues with descriptions of this "unfinished" nation, where the history of this nation is scarred with misdeeds and mistakes. With the phrases "unfinished" and "far from pristine," Gorman emphasizes that America's development is still a work in progress. Movements and efforts have been made towards its end result, but America is not there yet. This implies that current and future generations of Americans must continue to work on this great national experiment, a message that Gorman sends in many lines of this poem.
The history of America is also referenced frequently in "The Hill We Climb." As someone "descended from slaves," Gorman speaks to her own perseverance and that of herancestors before her. These moments in the past remind us of the challenges and obstacles that America has faced together before, and the lessons we learned from them, as well as the resilience of the American people. After being "raised by a single mother," Gorman's accomplishment as the youngest inaugural poet is a demonstration of perseverance through difficult circumstances. With these lines, Gorman suggests how her own ability to overcome difficult circumstances to get to the place where she is today is similar to how America as a nation has had to persevere despite threats to its existence in the past, and will need to continue to strive to overcome further challenges in the future.
In these next few lines, Gorman uses the performative and auditory aspects of this poem to create a powerful rhythm. The consonance of "to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man" draws attention to itself, especially when read aloud. The repetition of "c" sounds also serves to unify these different issues, conveying that these different markers of identity all belong to fellow Americans. Since this poem first appeared as a spoken-word piece, Gorman uses the repetition of sounds effectively, although with differing strategies. The lines "Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division" uses anaphora to indicate an evolution from one idea to the next. The repetition of "we will never again," as well as the similarities between "know defeat" and "sow division" represent a subtle, yet powerful change in thought, from loss and failure to unity and strength.
As the poem continues, Gorman defines the actions that "we" have to do to create this more finished, more polished nation. Again, she takes advantage of the spoken-word format with the lines "we lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another." The repetition of the word "arms" here emphasizes its double meaning: both as weaponry and as limbs. One is a marker of war, and the other is a marker of peace, and the shift in the word's meaning in the line indicates Gorman's intention: to urge for peace as a response to violence.
The language of the poem is strong, using simple images to illustrate complex subjects similar to a sermon. For example, the image of the titular "hill" is a natural feature, one that all members of the audience can relate to, but the image also represents the intricate web of challenges that Americans have and will face. By uniting all of the problems ahead in the image of a single slope, Gorman does not lessen the weight of the issues, but makes the future less daunting, more understandable, and therefore easier to tackle. The social issues of the time are rarely referred to specifically, but in their abstraction they become simpler problems to face.
Throughout the poem, Gorman also successfully uses rhyme to enhance the flow. For example, "victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made, that is the promise to glade, the hill we climb." The pattern of rhymes in these lines created by "blade," "made," and "glade" is interrupted by the phrase "the hill we climb," which draws the audience's attention to that line specifically, especially since it is the title of the poem. In addition to this contrast, similar to the anaphora before, there is an evolution of ideas that demonstrates Gorman's vision of the future. From "blade" (symbolizing violence), to "made" (indicating creation and connection), to "glade" (a peaceful natural clearing), the promise of peace and harmony emerges.
Gorman goes on to use modified phrases from American history to underscore her intention to change its course. For example, the line "in this faith we trust" is a play on the phrase "in God we trust," an American motto printed on nearly every coin in circulation. By adding the word "this" and replacing "God" with "faith," Gorman adapts the motto to her poem, pointing specifically to democracy's resilience, as opposed to the religious faith that the original motto implied. Gorman updates the motto, an example of the kind of rewriting of history that she advocates within the poem itself.
Another one of this poem's main ideas is the inheritance of American values, including democracy, freedom, and justice, and in the next few lines, Gorman addresses how daunting, yet necessary, creating a proper legacy is. The lines "We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour, but within we found the power to author a new chapter" indicate that anxiety, but also the tremendous power and strength involved in creating a great and just society. Additionally, during her performance of the poem, Gorman places emphasis on "hour," "power," and "chapter," a slant rhyme that again evolves an idea into something greater. From a terrifying "hour" of reckoning, to "power" in the self, to self-creation in a new "chapter," Gorman demonstrates the ability to transform a seemingly heavy burden into something empowering and powerful.
The end of the poem calls for people from all corners of the country to rise. In the last two lines, Gorman emphasizes the necessity for bravery in these uncertain times by repeating the same words, but only slightly changing the ending. The anaphora in "if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it" functions as both motivation and cautious hope for the audience of this poem. Gorman has highlighted all of the flaws in American history, and rallied the audience to change that history into something new. However, these last two lines are a reminder that the work still needs to be done, and that the existence of a progressive future relies heavily on "if."
