Many of Maya Angelou’s works reveal the perspective of an oppressed, Black woman in America. She does this so eloquently in “Caged Bird”, using the two birds as a metaphor and symbol. The bird, a common symbol of freedom in literature, are used to highlight the difference between the free and the oppressed, or more specifically, the Black and the white. The free bird sees the world as their own and “dares to claim the sky” where the caged bird “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. A poem of racism, privilege, and freedom.
Caged Bird
Summary of “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou
“Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou is a poem that describes the two opposing differences between two birds; a free bird and a caged bird. The free bird is happy and able to live in nature as it pleases while the caged bird suffers. The caged bird sings in its suffering. These birds act as a metaphor for oppression, highlighting the privilege of those free and the suffering and resilience of the oppressed. It was and still is a reflection of the oppression of the Black people in America.
Analysis of “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou
This is a 6 stanza poem that ranges in length. It was written in free verse; however, there are a few examples of iambic meter. Angelou uses several literary devices throughout “Caged Bird”. Repetition is used throughout, most noticeably with “free bird” and “caged bird” and again in the sixth stanza, where the poet repeats the third stanza. Alliteration is also used with “cage” and “can” as well as “sun” and “sky”. Further use of these literary devices, along with imagery, metaphor, symbol, and enjambment, can be seen with an analysis of each stanza.
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.
Angelou begins the poem by describing the experience of the free bird. She uses imagery here, painting a picture of a free bird flying in the wind with a sunny, orange sky. The free bird has the right to “claim the sky”. The reader can visualize a bird enjoying the sun and breeze in its natural habitat.
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 second stanza contrasts the first, as she introduces the reader to the caged bird. The first word, “But”, emphasizes this contrast. The author goes on to describe a bird that “stalks down his narrow cage” and you can immediately feel the tone has changed. It went from bright open skies to a dark narrow cage. The caged bird can “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. A stark contrast from the free bird in the first stanza. These bars represent both physical and emotional oppression that has changed the bird. The caged bird also has his wings clipped and feet tied, being completely restricted and trapped. Angelou says this is why the bird “opens his throat to sing”. Maya Angelou revealed in her autobiography that this is often how she felt, unable to enjoy the innate freedom she should have been given as a human.
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.
Here in the third stanza, Angelou describes the caged bird’s song. The caged bird sings of freedom, of fear, and things unknown. Singing was a way to express the pain and longing for 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
In stanza four, we look back at the different life of the free bird. The free bird doesn’t have to think about freedom because it is free. Instead, it “thinks of another breeze” and “the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn”. The free bird owns the world, “he names the sky his own”. The caged bird, never having experienced freedom and wanting freedom, thinks and sings only of freedom.
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 first line in the fifth stanza reveals the author’s feelings of her own dreams, “a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams”. The dreams of Black people were never given a chance, unlike the free, white people. The cage is racism, oppression, and discrimination, all of which have killed the dreams of Black men, women, and children. In the second line, “shouts on a nightmare scream” we see the pain and suffering of captivity being a real-life nightmare.
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 third stanza is repeated in the sixth stanza. The author says the bird’s cries are heard but are muted as if heard from a distance. The caged bird, although never experiencing it, knows it should be free “for the caged bird sings of freedom”.
Themes in “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou
One of the most predominant themes seen in this poem is the theme of Black oppression in America. The caged bird is a metaphor for the Black community’s race-based oppression. Angelou captures the agony and cruelty by relating it to the suffering of the caged bird. The singing can be tied directly to African American history in the United States. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass once said, “Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy”. Defenders of slavery had argued the Black people were happy with slavery because they were always singing. With the caged bird, Angelou uses the song as an expression of emotional pain. The second theme is Freedom and Captivity. The two contrasting experiences highlight the injustice against the caged bird, as well as the difference in how the free bird acts and thinks. The free bird never thinks about freedom because it is free, and continues to see more of the world. The caged bird, which lacks freedom, only thinks and sings about freedom. The caged bird is trapped in a cage, wings clipped, and feet tied, representing the layers of oppression the Black community faces.
Background of “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou
Born Marguerite Annie Johnson in 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri, Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. She is best known for her seven series autobiography; the first entitled “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” and was written in 1969. Angelou was outspoken on the rights of the Black community. The “Caged Bird” symbolizes the plight of Black Americans now and throughout American history, specifically making reference to slavery. It reflects many of the feelings she expressed in her first autobiographical book. The poem was written in 1983 and was featured in “Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?”.
Maya Angelou wrote “Caged Bird” over three decades ago, and these words still ring just as true. It is a beautifully written poem containing a horrible and sad truth about racism and oppression in the US.