I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
was first published in her book 'Shaker, Why Don't You sing' in 1983, Inspired
by Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem Sympathy, the poetess has presented a
contrasting picture of slavery and freedom and this picture alludes
metaphorically to the differences between whites and South Americans during the
Civil Rights era and the indiscrimination, racism and hatred towards The South
Americans
The Poetess:
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St.
Louis, Missouri in America, Her brother Bailey gave her the name Maya. At the
age of three, her parents divorced and she had to go to live with her
grandmother in Arkansas which was at that time a racist society and from the
very childhood she experienced great raciest discrimination, brutality and at
the age of seven, because of an assault, she lost her voice which was the
result of trauma. Her teacher Bertha Flowers' efforts inspired her to write
poetry and gradually she found her voice. Once started she never stopped. She
was a celebrated poet, novelist, memoirist, dramatist, actress and civil rights
activist. She wrote a series of autobiographies, four memoirs. She has also
written poems, including children's books, a cook book and Elder Grace. The
Nobility of Aging (2005). She died on May 28, 2014.
The Poem in Detail:
Stanza - 1:
The poetess here is describing the actions of a
free bird. He flies springing free from the ground and flies in the direction
of the air current. It looks as if the bird has dipped his wrings in the orange
rays of the sun covering the sky There are no limitations for the free bird. He
flies as if the sky belonged to him and he has the courage to claim his right.
Stanza - 2:
This stanza explains the condition of a captive
bird in a cage. This bird can hardly see through the bars of his cage. He is
enslaved, his wings are clipped and feet are tied. He can do nothing else
except singing, so he starts singing
Stanza - 3:
The caged bird shivers while singing about the
things not known to him. He realizes and understands his captivity but still
longs for freedom. His song is heard at far off places as the caged bird sings
for freedom.
Stanza - 4:
In stanza four, the poetess returns to the free
bird and his thoughts which present a total contrast to the condition of the
caged bird in the next stanza. The free bird things about another soft wind. He
thinks of the trade winds, that is, strong winds that blow all the time towards
the Equator. He thinks about those trade winds which pass through the trees
which seem to be sighing. The fat worms seem to be waiting for the free bird on
a lawn which looks bright in the early dawn and he feels as if he owns the sky
Stanza - 5:
The poet says that in contrast the captive bird
seems to be standing on the grave of his dream. The poetess describes the poor
bird's cries as that of someone having a frightening dream. The caged bird's
wings are clipped and feet are tied. There is nothing he can do except singing,
so the captive bird starts singing, which shows that his spirit is not dead
although his body is in prison.
Stanza - 6:
Emphasizing the tragic condition of the captive
bird, the poetess says that the bird sings in an unsteady way because he is
frightened. He sings about the things not familiar to him but he wants to know
them, reach them and his tune is heard on the distant hills because this caged
bird sings of freedom
Theme:
The theme of freedom versus captivity runs
throughout the poem. Referring to the plight of a caged bird and a free bird,
highlighting the difference between the two birds, the poetess has alluded to
the discrimination, racism, hatred and tortures of the South Americans by the
Whites. The pain and suffering of the caged bird present the true picture of
the condition of the South Africans during the civil right era. Maya Angelou
herself suffered lot from her very childhood. At the age of seven because of an
assault she lost her voice and the loss of voice for five years was the result
of the trauma.
But the poem ends on a positive note. With all
the suffering and distress, the caged bird like the oppressed South
Americans does not stop her efforts for
freedom. He succeeds in opening his throat and start singing and his voice is
heard at distant places.
It is also a poem of indomitable spirit of the
caged bird who does not accept total defeat and does not stop trying to find
some way to achieve freedom.
Literary Devices:
1. Structure and Style:
The poem contains six stanzas. It is described
as a lyric written in combine quintets and Quatrains. Each stanza follows the
rhyming scheme of A A A B. Each stanza of the poem starts with a capital
letter, then the rest of the stanza follows in small letters.
ii. Allusion:
It is a reference of other works, just as here
the title of this poem Maya Angelou's refers to Paul Lawrence Dunbar's poem
'Sympathy' published in 1899.
iii. Alliteration: e.g.:
(i) Can seldom see through (iv) his shadow
shouts on a nightmare scream
iv. Repetition:
It is used to put emphasis on an idea eg. the
sixth stanza is a repetition of the third stanza
v. Hyperbole:
It is used to heighten the effect of an idea,
e.g. And dares to claim to sky. This description of a free bird brings great
contrast to the condition of a caged bird who
cannot even see towards the sky clearly through the bars of his cage.
vi. Personification:
Here the inanimate objects like trade winds,
sighing trees are described as if they are animate beings
vii. Metaphor: The Caged Bird' is a metaphor used by the
poetess for herself
viii. Imagery:
In this poem, the visual imagery, auditory
imagery and Kinesthetic imagery are used by the poetess to describe the caged
bird and its counterpart the free bird.
Word-meaning:
⚫Stalks down - following quietly gradually
moving Clipped-cut off, refers to the restrictions
Trill - to produce an unsteady sound when
frightened
•Leaps-springs
Downstream - in the direction in which stream,
air etc. flows
Dares-not to be afraid, to have the courage
Narrow Cage-refers to the restrictions on the
life a caged bird
⚫Night mare-frightening dream ⚫Trade winds - strong winds that blow all the
time towards the Equator and then to the West.
Sighing trees- the sound produced by the leaves
of trees when a strong wind blows.
ASSIGNMENTS
(1) Read the extract given below and answer the
questions that follow:
A free bird leaps on the back
of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange sun rays
And dares to claim the sky
1. Who is referred to as a free bird in the
poem? Why?
The free bird represents a free person and here
the white race because the white race in America lived free and happy while the
African Americans were enslaved and were in the very poor condition
2. To what is the free bird compared to in the
first two lines of the extract? How is the action of the bird shown to be free
and enjoyable?
The free bird is compared to one who is happy
and enjoying life. He leaps and seems to dip his wings in the orange rays of
sun totally carefree.
3. Explain what do the orange sun rays
symbolize?
Orange is the color associated with glow and
happiness. Who is not happy if he is free.
4. Give the meaning of leaps and dares.
Leaps means jumps and dares means has the
courage to do something.
5. How does the free bird dare to claim the
sky?
Freedom gives a being courage. As the bird is
free and leaping up and down wherever he wants, he thinks he can do whatever he
wants and thus he feels that the sky is his
(2) Read the extract given below and answer the
questions that follow: 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 sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still And his
tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
1. Why does this stanza in the extract begin
with, but?
The first stanza in the extract begins with
but, to show the difference in the activities of a free bird and a caged
bird, which are just opposite of each other.
2. Why do you think the cage is 'narrow? What
is meant by 'his bars of rage'?
The cage is narrow because it symbolizes prison
cells and they are always, small, narrow and suffocating.
3. Why does a bird that stalks down his narrow
cage can seldom see through his bars of rage?
There is little space between the bars of the
cage and so the bird is unable to see the outside with an impotent and helpless
anger and thus, the bars become the symbol of his rage world. This fills him
4. Under what circumstances does the caged bird
sing? What does it tell us about his condition?
The caged bird also wants to fly in the sky but
it cannot. Therefore, to express his condition and feelings, there is no way
out except singing. That's why he sings. The singing tells us about his helplessness
and suffering because of his captivity.
5. Why does the caged bird want to sing of
things 'unknown'?
As The caged birds yearn for freedom and fly to
the far-off places. As he cannot do this, he simply expresses his pent-up
feelings by his singing
6. What is meant by 'fearful trill"?
A6. Being caged, the bird remains in the state
of permanent fear. That is why, when he sings the sound of his voice remains
fearful.
7. What song is he singing? Where is his
singing heard?
The bird is singing of freedom and other
unknown things, which he is unable to see because of his captivity. His singing
is heard up to distant hills
(3) Read the extract given below and answer the
questions that follow: The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
1. What is meant by another breeze'? Why does
the free bird think of another breeze?
Another breeze' means another place? The free
bird does not have any binding to remain at one place. So, he wants to roam in
new places:
2. What is the grave of dreams? Why does a
caged bird stand on the grave of dreams?
Unlike the free bird, the caged bird cannot
fulfill any of his desires or wishes, but he has always dreamt of other places
different from his cage. Unfortunately, he cannot leave his cage. So, his
dreams are never fulfilled and thus he stands on the grave of unfulfilled
dreams
3. What metaphorical implications do the
following lines have?
His wings are clipped, his feet are tied So, he
opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird' itself is a metaphor for the
poetess Maya Angelou herself. The caged bird's clipped wings and tied feet are
the metaphorical reference to all those African Americans who faced
discrimination, prejudices slavish treatment during the apartheid.
4. What is the significance of the fat worms
waiting on a dawn bright lawn"?
While the caged bird suffers every deprivation,
the free bird has fat worms waiting to be eaten by her. It has the reference to
the poor, deprived Africans Americans while the whites have tables of delicious
food waiting for them.
5. Why does the caged bird open his throat to
sing?
The caged bird has no other option except
express his feelings through singing. This also shows that even years of cruel
treatment, tortures and captivity have not dampened his spirit and therefore
the only way accessible to him is singing. This is the allusion to the
African-Americans whose indomitable spirit could not be broken by continuous
tyranny of the whites of America
6. Compare the life of a caged bird with that
of a free bird and show how the theme of freedom and enslavement is brought out
in the poem.
The theme of freedom versus enslavement runs throughout
the poem. Freedom is symbolized through the instructed movements of a free bird
whereas the enslavement is symbolized by the caged bird whose wings are clipped
and feet are tied. This reference to clipped wings and tied feet symbolizes the
helplessness of a slave who can do nothing on his own freely. He sits on the
grave of his dreams while the free bird has every option open, every movement
possible and every desired fulfilled.
In this way by comparison of these two birds
the theme of freedom versus enslavement is brought out in this poem.
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