‘Caged Bird’, or ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ as the poem is sometimes referred to, by Maya Angelou, is arguably one of the most moving and eye-opening poems ever written. Angelou also wrote an autobiography with a similar title, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. It is clear that this title had great significance to Angelou, as it was the title of her entire life story. In her autobiography, she talked about the struggle of being a black author and poet. She often felt that her words were not heard because of the color of her skin. She felt that in some ways, she was still experiencing slavery. Although African American people were free people in Angelou’s time, there were still many restrictions on them in society, making it so that many black Americans did not feel free at all.
Summary of Caged Bird
The free bird flies around the wind currents, feeling as though the sky belongs to him. On the other hand, the caged bird can barely move in its prison. It’s angry and frustrated. its wings are clipped and its feet are tied together. All it can do is sing fearfully of the things it wants and does not know. It sings for its freedom and everyone, even those far distant, can hear its song.
All the while, the free bird is focused on the breeze, the sounds the trees make, the words in the ground he’s planning on eating. Once more, the speaker reiterates the fact that the birds feels as though it owns the sky. The poem concludes with the caged bird singing once more, as the poet repeats the third stanza in its entirety.
You can read the full poem Caged Bird here.
Themes in Caged Bird
‘Caged Bird’ is filled with powerful themes. These include racial oppression, freedom/captivity, and happiness/sorrow. These themes are all wrapped together in ‘Caged Bird’ through Angelou’s depiction of the two birds, one free and one caged. The caged bird is an extended metaphor for the Black community in America and around the world. Angelou is alluding to the lived experience of millions of men, women, and children since the beginning of time and the variety of oppressive tactics, whether physical, mental, or economic employed by those in power. Black men, women, and children see “through…bars” while the free bird sores in the sky. The bird sings from a place of sadness rather than joy in order to convey a broader history of sorrow.
Structure and Form of Caged Bird
‘Caged Bird’ by Maya Angelou is a six stanza poem that is separated into stanzas that range in length. Angelou chose to write the poem in free verse. This means that there is no single rhyme scheme or metrical pattern that unites all the lines. But, there are some examples of an iambic meter. This adds to the overall musicality of the poem. Iambs are also generally referred to as “rising” feet in that the second syllable is stressed. This plays into the content of the caged bird and the free bird. Additionally, readers should take note of the instances in which the poet makes use of half-rhyme.
Literary Devices in Caged Bird
Angelou makes use of several literary devices in ‘Caged Bird’. These include but are not limited to alliteration, enjambment, and repetition. The latter, repetition is seen throughout the poem but most prominently in the structure of the stanzas and the continual reference to the “free bird” and “caged bird”. One of the best examples is seen in the sixth stanzas in which the poet repeats the entire third stanza.
Alliteration is another form of repetition but one that is solely focused on the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of multiple words. For example, “sun” and “sky” at the end of stanza one and “cage / can” in lines three and four of stanza two.
Enjambment is another important literary device that’s also quite common in contemporary poetry. It appears when a poet chooses to cut off a sentence or phrase with a line break before its natural stopping point. For example, the transition between lines one and two of the first stanza as well as lines three and four of the second stanza.
Analysis of Caged Bird
Stanza One
A free bird leapson the back of the wind(…)in the orange sun raysand dares to claim the sky.
In the first stanza, Maya Angelou refers to nature. She describes the way “a free bird leaps on the back of the wind”. She describes the bird’s flight against the orange sky. The free bird has the right “to claim the sky”. The way she describes the “orange sun rays” gives the reader an appreciation for the natural beauty of the sky, and her description of the way the bird “dips his wing” helps the reader to appreciate the bird in his natural habitat, enjoying his freedom.
Stanza Two
But a bird that stalksdown his narrow cage(…)his feet are tiedso he opens his throat to sing.
This stanza of ‘Caged Bird’ is in stark contrast with the first. By using the word “but” to begin this stanza, the speaker prepares the reader for this contrast. Then she describes the “bird that stalks his narrow cage”. The tone is immediately and drastically changed from peaceful, satisfied, and joyful to one that is dark, unnerving, and even frustrating. She describes that this caged first “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. While the free bird gets to enjoy the full sky, the caged bird rarely even gets a glimpse of the sky. She claims that “his wings are clipped and his feet are tied”. Text from her autobiography reveals that Angelou often felt this way in life. She felt restricted from enjoying the freedom that should have been her right as a human being. The speaker then reveals that these are the very reasons that the bird “opens his throat to sing”.
The author felt this way in her own life. She wrote and sang and danced because it was her way of expressing her longing for freedom.
Stanza Three
The caged bird singswith a fearful trill(…)for the caged birdsings of freedom.
The third stanza reverts back to the free bird, further cementing the difference between the free bird and the caged bird in the minds of the readers. She writes that a “free bird thinks of another breeze” that he can enjoy the “sighing trees” and be free to find his own food. The tone with which she writes the first and third stanzas so sharply contrasts with the second stanza, that readers can feel the difference. The first and third stanzas give the reader a sense of ecstasy and thrill, which serve to make the second stanza seem all the more droll and even oppressive.
Stanza Four
The free bird thinks of another breeze
(…)
and he names the sky his own
The fourth stanza of ‘Caged Bird’ continues the parallel between the free bird and the caged bird. The first line serves to starkly contrast the last line in the third stanza. It is dark and daunting. The reality of the life of the caged bird is revealed in this line.
Mentioning of ‘fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn brings around a predatorial/prey juxtaposition too. It would be the worms that would be scared for their life, losing freedom as the birds feed upon such prey. However, with a bird entrapped by a cage, the worms are the ones that have the freedom, compared to the caged bird.
Stanza Five
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
(…)
so he opens his throat to sing.
That bird, “stands on the grave of dreams”. This reveals the author’s feelings about her own dreams. She has so many dreams that have died because she was never given the freedom to achieve all that her white counterparts were able to achieve. Discrimination and Racism made up her cage, and although she sang, she felt her voice was not heard in the wide world, but only by those nearest her cage. The second line of this stanza is not only dark but even frightening.
The speaker describes the bird’s cries as “shouts on a nightmare scream”. At this point, the caged bird is so despondent in his life of captivity that his screams are like that of someone having a nightmare. The author then repeats these lines:
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
Reaffirming the idea that the bird opens his mouth to sing because his desire for freedom and his desire to express himself cannot be contained.
Stanza Six
The caged bird singswith a fearful trill(…)for the caged birdsings of freedom.
This last stanza focuses on the caged bird yet again. The author implies that even though the caged bird may have never experienced true freedom, deep down that bird still knows that it was created to be free. Although freedom, to the caged bird, is “fearful” because it is “unknown”, he still sings “a fearful trill” because he still longed for freedom. Here, the speaker reveals that his cry for freedom is “heard on the distant hill”. This parallels to the author and her cry for freedom in the form of equality. She feels that her cries are heard, but only as soft background noise. She still feels that she is caged and that although she sings, her cries are heard only as a distant noise.
The last line states, “For the caged bird sings of freedom”. With this, the speaker implies that although the caged bird may never have experienced freedom, he still sings of it because he was created for freedom. This is paralleled to the African American struggle in Maya Angelou’s time. She feels that black Americans wrote and sang and danced and cried out for the freedom they deserved, but they were only heard as a distant voice. Yet, this would not stop them from crying out for freedom and equality because they knew they were made for freedom, and they would not relent until they were given their rights as human beings to enjoy the freedom they were created to enjoy.
Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed ‘Caged Bird’ should also consider reading some of Maya Angelou’s other best-known poems. These include ‘Phenomenal Woman,‘ ‘Still I Rise,’ and ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me‘. The latter is a simple poem that describes the fears, or lack thereof, that a child speaker has. ‘Phenomenal Woman’ describes, through positive and joyful language, a speaker’s allure as a woman. She has irresistibly beautiful features and a strength that makes her stand out. Readers might also enjoy Audre Lorde‘s ‘Power‘ in which she reacts to a real-life murder and court case.
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What is the title based on?
The title pretty much describes the content of the poem.
this helped alot in my online class thanks
I’m glad to hear that.
This is so useful for me too. I’m from India.
Well hello from the UK. So glad this is useful!
can you explain the use of poetic language here and the impact of choice of words?
Hello, If you read the analysis it does just that! 🙂
Thanks . Nice summarization and analysis.
Very helpful.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Nic
Does this mean nice? If so then thanks.
As I am a student ,I’m very happy .This explains will help me to my o/l examination.
That’s great news. Good luck in the exams!
elaborative and helpful! Thank you.
Samudra, thanks for your comment! We’re glad we could help!
thank u for the explanations
they will surely help me in my exams………….
I’m so glad. That’s what we are trying to do.
I think we all should be very thankful because we can not easily find such analaysis beacause as we find all the other pages and sites to be purchased.so with all of those it is very glad to find this kind of a free and a useful analysis.
Help us to stay free by continuing to read! Thank you 🙂
Sir I need help in understanding the background of the poem and the characterization of Maya angelou for my final project . Can u plz help me?
Hi the analysis explains the poem as for more info on Maya Angelou, read her biography here 🙂
I’m having trouble with summarising this poem! could you help?
I think the poem is about slavery and how it feels like it has been abolished but in some ways the spectre of the inequality still makes it feel like slavery exists in some form.
Beautifully explained!!Hats off
I always love an excuse to take my hat off! Thank you for the feedback.
Wow indeed helpful, analysis appropriated
Thank you kindly.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME BUT MAIN POINTS SOMEWHERE ARE NOT EXPLAINED WELL
Hi there, could you indicate what parts of the poem that you require more detail in? We will endeavour to expand on an analysis if a reader requires it.
What are meant by terms like bars of rage
This is a really good question. I think the poem is a metaphor for slavery. The enslaved bird therefore is angry at being in captivity. It is also a play on words as the poem references the bird singing, so the bars could be interpreted as musical bars.
welcome my love
Really it’s very usefull. .luv it
actually i congratulate to the poet angelou since from her work known as “still i rise” she is still addressing that once you met even a bothered situation never forgive up that no matter how things will lay on you corresponding to the high class/oppressors one never give up.
even this poem because her tone has already known even to this poem is still emphasizes the same congratulation.
Thanks for the helpful explanation!
Very helpful!! Thanks 🙂
This kind of situation can be seen anywhere in the world specially 3rd world countries. The women have no freedom to express their feelings.They have to do all productive and reproductive work from morning to evening with in the household,but they cannot expose to the society and make decision in their own. they have no choice or voice in the society.
Very nice explanation
It seems to me the whole poem hinges on the line beginning with “So…” I never saw it so clearly before.
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.
So many cages in life; so many reasons to sing. Or write. Reminds me of Nelson Mandella all those years in prison.
A good analysis.
Good but ……….not so much
Get a better explanation than that then talk
Very good explanation of each stanza