The poems in I Shall Not Be Moved focus on themes of hard work, universal experiences of humans, the struggle of African Americans, and love and relationships.

[1] After her rape at the age of seven, as recounted in her first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), she dealt with her trauma by memorizing and reciting great works of literature, including poetry, which helped bring her out of her self-imposed muteness.

Bloom calls her performances "characteristically dynamic",[5] and says that Angelou "moves exuberantly, vigorously to reinforce the rhythms of the lines, the tone of the words.

[8] Critic Lyman B. Hagen states that much of Angelou's poetry and most of her writings, especially "Worker's Song", the first poem in I Shall Not Be Moved, praises the laborer.

[9] Critic Hazel Rochman, who calls the poem an "exquisitely simple worksong",[10] states that Angelou connects physical action with wit and longing.

[10] Michele Howe calls I Shall Not Be Moved "a collection that testifies to the undaunted spirit of oppressed people everywhere",[11] and states that it "relates a history of hard work, pain, joy, and the affection and heartbreak often associated with love".

The poem uses the title phrase; according to Howe, Angelou's use of the personal pronoun signifies the universal experience of mothers and grandmothers and their struggles to overcome obstacles.

The poem describes a man who "wouldn't take tea for the fever"—someone incapable of creatively dealing with his suffering at the hands of his employer.