Caged Bird

CAGED BIRD

The free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wings

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 fearful trill

of the 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. 

Maya Angelou

                     

              The poem, “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou describes the two opposite lives a caged bird and a bird that is free. I believe that Angelou used the birds as a metaphor to symbolize two people who are living completely opposite lives; one with the freedom and space to do as he wishes with the other caged in, with many restrictions.

           

               The first stanza starts off with the readers being introduced to the free bird. With the Diction that she uses, we can visualize the flight of the bird and clearly see the setting she sets. The bird is seen as a very daring and when it leaps, we can imagine someone jumping with joy. The second stanza talks a bird that is stuck in a cage with no way to escape. The bird is surrounded by bars that will not move. His wings are clipped so that he cannot fly and his feet are tied so he cannot escape. The only thing the bird can do is sing. Angelou uses singing to represent a form of freedom, self-expression, which the bird struggles to find. With the third stanza, we see the emotions of the trapped bird. Although he is singing, “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown…” (Angelou). Because the bird is caged, its only form of self-expression is singing for freedom, and I believe that Angelou suggests that to exist outside of the cage is the bird’s deepest desire.

                       

The fourth stanza goes back to the free bird. Angelou uses soft words such as “winds soft,” “dawn-bright lawn” (Angelou). These contradict the harsh reality of the caged bird in the fifth stanza, “grave of dreams” “nightmare scream…” (Angelou). Angelou uses personification in the line, “his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” (Angelou), giving the shadow the ability to scream like a human. To end off the poem, we go back to the life of the caged bird, full of fear, trapped in its own cage, all while it still sings in the hope of a miracle.

                                 

In my opinion, this poem has a LOT to say about the lives of different people around the world. In many cases, there are people who have to live under the rules of others higher in status than them. They have no say and have to do as the others wish. Then there are others who live life without a care in the world. This reminds me of the time when African-Americans had to follow what the White people said just because of their skin colour. The A.A people were the ones in the cage surrounded not by metal bars, but by racism. And the free people were the ones who got to roam around and boss others.