Poetry Analysis of Maya Angelou's Caged Bird ‘Caged Bird’ is a poem written by Maya Angelou which considers the conditions of the ‘free bird’ and the ‘caged bird’. Actually this contrast between the birds enables her to express her own emotions about freedom and isolation. The poem is quite symbolic so there are various hidden messages she tries to convey about her feelings mostly indirectly. In the first stanza Maya Angelou breathes life into her description of the ‘free bird’ by using verbs like ‘leaps’, ‘floats’, ‘dips’. The ‘free bird’ is a symbol of freedom and these well-chosen verbs are especially meaningful because they contain joy and energy – this is a hint for us to discover how Maya Angelou feels about freedom as well. The first stanza is full of enjambment and this devic...
Here, the free bird is described as having the liberty to do as it pleases. The worms in these lines exemplify prosperity that one can obtain when unhampered and given the opportunity. Also, all these events and qualities give the free bird confidence. The author wants to express the idea that this is how the bird is meant to live because its wings should give them the ability to defy typical laws of nature. Still, Angelou then uses juxtaposition to reveal how distinct the life of a caged and free bird are. The, “caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/ his shadow starts on a nightmare scream,” (26-27). Unlike the free bird, the caged bird is not given the opportunity to fulfill its dreams. By associating unfulfilled dreams with feeling
In the text "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" a young black girl is growing up with racism surrounding her. It is very interesting how the author Maya Angelou was there and the way she described every detail with great passion. In the book Maya and Bailey move to a lot of places, which are, Stamps, Arkansas; St. Louis, Missouri; and San Francisco, California. Maya comes threw these places with many thing happening to her and people she knows. She tries to hold onto all the good memories and get rid of the bad but new ones just keep coming. That is why this book is very interesting. It keeps readers on the edge of their seats.
Archetypes are recurring symbols that represent certain a thing. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou illustrates that there many different types of archetypes and they could be good and evil. These archetypes can be seen through Momma, Maya’s belief that being white is good, and the stylistic techniques and conventions that are used.
The most important thing in life is relationships with other people. Every relationship has the power to shape lives, whether it is in a good or bad way. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, the main character, Maya, forms a relationship the influences the rest of her life. Maya’s relationship with Mr. Freeman causes desensitizes her and causes pain and confusion.
Her religious upbringing gave her the courage to sing through her poetry as a black female trapped in an invisable cage made of racial prejudice and economic poverty. Maya Angelou literally and sybolically sings through her writing and her poetry. The caged bird is sybolic of a black female learning to cope and fight against the the racist attitudes and realities that exist in America. Maya knows why the caged bird sings because she realizes she is a caged bird in a rascist society. A caged bird can sing a beautiful song or a black female in America can write beautiful
The book thus explores a lot of important issues, such as: sexuality and race relations, and shows us how society violated her as a young African American female. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou clearly expresses the physical pain of sexual assault, the mental anguish of not daring to tell, and her guilt and shame for having been raped. Her timidity and fear of telling magnify the brutality of the rape. For more than a year after the rape she lives in self-imposed silence, speaking only very rarely. This childhood rape reveals the pain that African American women suffered as victims not only of racism but also sexism.
Angelou identifies the bars of the “cage” as racism, sexism, and the powerlessness of their victims, whose disabling responses of “fear, guilt, and self-revulsion” merely become additional restraints. The poem uses singing as a form of attempted liberty and self-expression, that the bird endeavors to discover. In the second stanza, its states, “his wings are clipped and/ his feet are tired/ so he opens his throat to sing.” As the bird is restrained physically, his only attempt at acquiring freedom is with the assistance of singing. Angelou proposes the bird’s deepest yearning is to exist outside of the repressive cage, so it acts as though it were free by singing confidently. The third stanza states, “his tune is heard/ on the distant hill/ for the caged bird/ sings of freedom.” The bird displays his prominent ambitions in a manner that leaves readers acknowledging its main objective: freedom to soar the sky as it pleases to. Although the birds high-pitched notes appear fearful, it longs for liberty in a savage like
Maya Angelou wrote that, “The caged bird sings/ with a fearful trill/ of things unknown/ but longed for still”. The caged bird has always been captured, the caged bird has seen the free bird soar and the caged bird has always wanted a taste of freedom. The author wrote, “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/ his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream”. Although, as the years went by, the birds hope had finally died, finally realizing that it is just a fantasy and nothing more. The melancholy bird finally gave up on the fruitless idea of having a fulfilling life, of having a free life and a life of being oblivious to the hardships of others, only worrying about those people that are close to
The poem “Know why the caged bird sings” is about a bird that is trapped in a cage and a free bird. It is a metaphoric poem that represents African Americans and how their lives are so different to “white” peoples lives. The author Maya Angelou is a well known civil rights activist and an award winning author. She wrote this poem trying to make people come to the realisation on how this society affects African Americans. She became a noble friend of Malcolm X who was an activist for African Americans, this friendship unfolded her career of becoming an activist for human rights.
Furthermore, Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘Caged Bird,’ there is a heavy usage of imagery to contrast the lives of the free and caged bird. For example, the first stanza includes vivid details about how free and easygoing the free bird’s life is. The text includes, “A free bird leaps/ on the back of the wind/ and floats downstream…” “...and dips his wing/ in the orange sun rays/ and dares to claim the sky.” Evidently, this bird can openly travel through the wonders of the world, such as streams and beautiful skies; there seems to not be a care in the world. However, the reader gets a peek into the life of the caged bird, who has a multitude of challenges and sorrow. These circumstances are first shown in the second stanza, but there is a more intense picture in stanza five, “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/ his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/ his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/ so he opens his throat to sing.” There is an obvious switch in mood that is projected from the author, as the caged bird has lost its dreams and had many obstacles preventing it from breaking
Maya Angelou was an African American women who wrote about rising up and the oppressed. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou talked about a free man and an oppressed man. She went into detail that the difficulties that the written about the oppressed man was forced to face. In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou, Maya illustrates two aspects to the reader, she presents a free man and oppressed man.
In the poem there are two birds, one is caged and is forced to watch the other free bird. “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” The caged bird in Maya Angelou’s poem is forced to watch the free bird from his cage. This caged bird can’t beat his wings, fly, or move, he can only sing a song that is a cry for help. The caged bird can’t do much about his situation, he is trapped and disabled. “ But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.” the caged bird cannot fly anymore because his wings are clipped. Even though he can’t fly the bird still opens his throat to sing. The caged bird in “ Caged Bird” is not as free as the bird in “Sympathy” because if this bid is free he can fly and do whatever he wants. But the bird in Maya’s poem cannot, he isn’t truly free, there is more hope for the other
Walker, Pierre A. Racial protest, identity, words, and form in Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Vol. 22. West Chester: Collage Literature, n.d. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
Maya Angelou’s excerpt from her book “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” reveals the challenges facing a young black girl in the south. The prologue of the book tells of a young Angelou in church trying to recite a poem she has forgotten. She describes the dress her grandmother has made her and imagines a day where she wakes up out of her black nightmare. Angelou was raised in a time where segregation and racism were prevalent in society. She uses repetition, diction, and themes to explore the struggle of a black girl while growing up. Angelou produces a feeling of compassion and poignancy within the reader by revealing racial stereotypes, appearance-related insecurities, and negative connotations associated with being a black girl. By doing this she forces the
Throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, racism is a frequent obstacle that non-whites had to overcome. When Maya is young, she doesn’t recognize the racism and discrimination as well as her grandmother does. As Maya gets older, she begins to recognize and take notice to the racism and discrimination towards her and African Americans everywhere. Maya may not recognize the racism and discrimination very well at her young age, but it still affects her outlook on life the same way it would if she had recognized it. The racism and discrimination Maya faced throughout I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, affected her attitude, personality, and overall outlook on life in a positive way.