Caged Bird - Maya Angelou Text of the poem 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. 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 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. 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 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 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.
Pre-reading: What do the metaphors of cage and bird represent? Do they appear as antithesis of each other? If listed together, what connotation does it bring? As a citizen of the world of today, how much do you think you are free? What does freedom mean to you? While Reading: First Impression: Second Reading: Rhyme Scheme: Form: Reading for Meaning: Annotation: S.No. Words Literal Meaning Connotation/Effect 1. Leaps, floats, dips, dares 2. current 3. cage 4. bars of rage 5. wings are clipped
6. fearful trill 7. distant hill Reading for Analysis Who are the speaker and his persona? Can you discern a point of view here? Stanza 1 Notice the use and effect of action verbs. Notice the use and effect of the line starters. How do the two elements of nature affect the movement of the bird? At the end of the first stanza, what is the tone established by the narrator? Stanza 2 What contrast does the opening line present? What are the other contrasting elements in this stanza? Notice the use of active verbs as opposed to the passive verbs in this stanza. How much of the control can the caged bird have on his life?
How has the cause of this consequence, so he opens his throat to sing been presented? Is it paradoxical? Notice the different effect of the alliteration of 'dip' and 'dare' in stanza one and 'bird' and 'bar' in stanza two. Notice the different effect of the assonance of 'wing' and 'clip' in stanza two and 'wing' and 'dip' in stanza one. What effect does the metaphor his bars of rage manifest? Stanza 3 How does the mood develop in the third stanza?
The stanza opens with the continuation of the action verb sings. However, how has this action been presented here? What is the irony here? List the choices which have been denied to the caged bird. Stanza 4 Notice the change in the length of lines and use of long vowels here. What effect do they render to the tone? Instead of singing freely and merrily, the free bird has been presented as dreaming. There are other images of lucrative life beyond the horizon. Discuss. How do the opportunities that were inaccessible for the caged bird, open their arms for the free bird? Compare the final line of stanza 4 with the final line of stanza 1. What has changed?
Stanza 5 Like stanza 4, the lines are longer than the first three stanzas and use the long vowel sounds. However, how do these vowels contrast with those used in the previous stanza? [ Hint: grave, dreams, shadow, shouts, screams, nightmare, tied] Notice the effect of repetition of his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/ so he opens his throat to sing. Stanza 6 Stanza 6 is a repetition of stanza 3. How does this repetition affect the theme? Does it bring any change in the tone? What might be the significance of the final word of poem as a contrast to the title of the poem? Post Reading Reflection With respect to the context of this poem, what are the thematic references you can make to the political and social injustice?
How far do you see the extended metaphor of the caged bird manifested in the world of today? Do you identify racism, sexism, ethnicity and sexual orientation (or any other paradigms) to be barriers in one s quest for life? Exam Style Questions: 1. Consider the ways in which Caged Bird presents ideas about social injustice and lack of liberty 2. Explore the ways in which Maya Angelou uses the caged bird s metaphor to present her ideas. 3. Explore the ways in which the poet has used language and other poetic devices to present ideas in... (apply this question to any of the poems)