I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
with the aid of Maya Angelou
A unfastened chicken leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the present day ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.
But a BIRD that stalks down his slim cage
Can seldom see via his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his ft are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a frightened trill
Of matters unknown but longed for nonetheless
And his tune is heard at the remote hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.
The free fowl thinks of any other breeze
And the alternate winds soft through
The sighing timber
And the fat worms waiting on a sunrise-shiny
Lawn and he names the sky his own.
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 fowl sings with
A worried trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged chook sings of freedom.
Summary of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Popularity: Written by means of Maya Angelou, a popular African American poet, the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is an awesome literary piece. The poem reflects the records of racial segregation or social discrimination in American society against black people. Using the metaphors of caged and unfastened birds, Maya Angelou has highlighted the nature of captivity and the importance of American beliefs of freedom, liberty, and
Criticism on Racial Discrimination: Maya Angelou has presented two birds. One is caged, and the alternative is unfastened. The caged hen represents African Americans and their sorrowful plight as compared to the white Americans. She says that the free chicken has the freedom to move everywhere inside the world, even as the caged bird is in captivity, complete of pain and rage. African Americans did not have the freedom to move and experience existence as white humans earlier than the Civil Rights Movement. The freedom of the unfastened fowl and the alienation and captivity of the caged fowl were in comparison and contrasted approximately both the communities, and the positive factors of freedom were highlighted.
Major Themes: There are foremost themes in the poem. The first fundamental subject is given within the first stanza that is freedom. It is given via the image of a unfastened bird that goes anywhere it wants, ranging from enjoyment on flow to soaring in the wind. The 2nd subject is captivity that cripples the chook inside the cage. This topic is going on inside the 0.33 stanza and attempts to state that the caged hen is forced to sing a music of freedom. Then the unfastened chicken once more comes into view in the fourth stanza and enjoys existence on trade winds, timber and inside the width and breadth of the sky. Next stanzas describe the caged hen’s fear even as it is making an attempt to sing a track for its freedom throughout its bondage.
Analysis of the Literary Devices in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Maya Angelou has used diverse literary devices to enhance the intended affects of her poem. Some of the most important literary gadgets were analyzed below.
Alliteration: Alliteration is a literary tool in which a sequence of words start with the same consonant sound. This poem is wealthy with alliterations and its examples may be seen in the repetition of /s/ sound in “seldom see thru” and then /w/ sound in “worms ready” and then again /sh/ sound in “shadows shouts.”
Assonance: Assonance is using vowel sounds in brief succession. The poem has a couple of assonances, for example, /i/ sounds in ‘distant hills’ and ‘sings with fearful hills’.
Consonance: Consonance method repetitive sounds produced by using consonants inside a sentence or phrase. In the lines “But a bird that stalks down” /b/ sounds have been repeated and within the equal way, /d/ sound is repeated in “exchange winds.”
Imagery: As imagery pertains to 5 senses, this poem is complete of distinctive snap shots. “loose hen” and “returned of wind” pictures for sight and feelings. Similarly, there are some snap shots such as “orange solar rays” is for sight, and “throat to sing” is for hearing.
Metaphors: There are main metaphors. The first metaphor is of the free chook that is for the white Americans or unfastened human beings, at the same time as the caged bird is the metaphor of African Americans and their captivity inside the social norms.
Personification: Maya Angelou has used personification such as “sighing trees” as if timber are feeling sorrow. Also, she has personified the bird through converting its pronoun from ‘its’ to ‘his’.
Symbol: Maya Angelou has used special symbols to show racial discrimination and social construction in opposition to her community. The caged hen is a symbol of imprisonment, even as his song is a image of freedom.
This analysis shows that this poem has used literary devices to factor out the significance of freedom earlier than the Civil War era and even now.
Analysis of the Poetic Devices in “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Although maximum of the poetic gadgets are a part of literary devices, yet some gadgets are handiest used in poems. The analysis of some of the principal poetic devices used on this poem is given here.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make a stanza melodious such as inside the first and 2nd line the third stanza the rhyming phrases are “trill”, “nevertheless” and “shrill”.
Internal Rhyme: The inner rhyme is rhyme within a line such as in the line “waiting on a dawn vivid lawn” phrases “sunrise” and “lawn” rhyme with each other.
Repetition: The poetic, in addition to the rhetorical device of repetition, emphasizes a point through repetition such as “A unfastened chicken thinks” and “The caged hen sings” which have been repeated in the poem several times.
Stanza: The poet has used stanzas with a unique number of strains with no normal rhyme scheme.
Quotes for utilization from “I recognize why the caged bird sings”
These two lines may be used at the event of a speech given about freedom or liberty.
“A loose chicken leaps at the lower back of the wind
and floats downstream till the cutting-edge ends.”
These two traces can be used to make the humans comprehend approximately the flora and fauna and the fee of freedom for the birds.
“The caged fowl sings with a nervous trill
of factors unknown however longed for nevertheless.”
Popular Literary Devices
- Ad Hominem
- Adage
- Allegory
- Alliteration
- Allusion
- Ambiguity
- Anachronism
- Anagram
- Analogy
- Anapest
- Anaphora
- Anecdote
- Antagonist
- Antecedent
- Antimetabole
- Antithesis
- Aphorism
- Aposiopesis
- Apostrophe
- Archaism
- Archetype
- Argument
- Assonance
- Biography
- Cacophony
- Cadence
- Caricature
- Catharsis
- Characterization
- Cliché
- Climax
- Colloquialism
- Comparison
- Conflict
- Connotation
- Consonance
- Denotation
- Deus Ex Machina
- Dialect
- Dialogue
- Diction
- Didacticism
- Discourse
- Doppelganger
- Double Entendre
- Ellipsis
- Epiphany
- Epitaph
- Essay
- Ethos
- Eulogy
- Euphemism
- Evidence
- Exposition
- Fable
- Fallacy
- Flash Forward
- Foil
- Foreshadowing
- Genre
- Haiku
- Half Rhyme
- Hubris
- Hyperbaton
- Hyperbole
- Idiom
- Imagery
- Induction
- Inference
- Innuendo
- Internal Rhyme
- Irony
- Jargon
- Juxtaposition
- Limerick
- Line Break
- Logos
- Meiosis
- Memoir
- Metaphor
- Meter
- Mood
- Motif
- Narrative
- Nemesis
- Non Sequitur
- Ode
- Onomatopoeia
- Oxymoron
- Palindrome
- Parable
- Paradox
- Parallelism
- Parataxis
- Parody
- Pathetic Fallacy
- Pathos
- Pentameter
- Persona
- Personification
- Plot
- Poem
- Poetic Justice
- Point of View
- Portmanteau
- Propaganda
- Prose
- Protagonist
- Pun
- Red Herring
- Repetition
- Rhetoric
- Rhyme
- Rhythm
- Sarcasm
- Satire
- Simile
- Soliloquy
- Sonnet
- Style
- Superlative
- Syllogism
- Symbolism
- Synecdoche
- Synesthesia
- Syntax
- Tautology
- Theme
- Thesis
- Tone
- Tragedy
- Tragicomedy
- Tragic Flaw
- Transition
- Utopia
- Verisimilitude