Class 7 English

Literature
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.

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Summary
In the first stanza, the speaker describes a bird taking flight and gliding on a wind current. The bird revels in its
freedom, feeling the warmth of sun rays on its wings as it flaps them. The speaker describes the free bird's flight
as "daring to claim the sky."
The second stanza introduces a comparison of the free bird to a caged bird. Imprisoned, the caged bird stalks his
cage and feels rage over having clipped wings and tied feet. The flight-limiting cage, wing clipping, and tied
feet prompt the bird to sing.
In the third stanza, the speaker says the caged bird sings a song infused with a fear of the things the bird does
not know but longs for nonetheless. The caged bird's tune reaches a distant hill because it is a song yearning for
freedom.
Stanza four returns to the free bird, who contemplates the arrival of another strong wind and thinks about the fat
worms which await him on lawns in the morning. He claims the sky as his own.
The fifth stanza shifts back to the caged bird, whose perch is "the grave of dreams" and whose "shadow shouts
on a nightmare scream." Because his wings are clipped and his feet tied, he opens his throat to sing.
The sixth and final stanza is a word-for-word repeat of the third stanza. The caged bird sings a song that is
fearful of the things the bird does not know but for which it longs. The speaker concludes the poem by repeating
that the song reaches a distant hill because "the caged bird sings of freedom."

Analysis
Through juxtaposing the symbolic experiences of two birds—one free and one caged—Maya Angelou explores
themes of freedom, oppression, and resilience. The result is an allegory for the comparative experiences of
white Americans who take their freedom and privilege for granted and Black Americans who face systemic
racial and economic oppression, and yet because of this oppression, have a deeper and truer knowledge of what
freedom is.
In terms of form, “Caged Bird” comprises six stanzas of free verse. The poem also uses an inconsistent rhyme
scheme that combines occasional end rhymes, slant rhymes, and internal rhymes. Angelou establishes rhythm in
the first line through the use of iambs, which creates a stress pattern of a short syllable followed by a long
syllable: e.g. a FREE bird LEAPS.
However, as the poem is written in free verse, Angelou often breaks with the iambic rhythm to subvert the
listener’s expectation of how the line will sound. For example, the third stanza begins with what would be four
lines of iambic dimeter were it not for the introduction of a fifth syllable in the second line (“with a fearful
trill”). The effect of breaking the rhythm—making it slightly off-balance—is that Angelou captures in her
language the “fearful trill” being described.
Angelou also uses enjambment—the continuation of a clause or sentence over multiple lines—to enhance the
images she describes. The first stanza, in which the free bird takes flight and drifts on the wind, is a single
sentence extended over seven lines. The effect of Angelou’s lineation is to make the language itself seem to
float along the same wind current on which the free bird glides. Interestingly, Angelou also uses enjambment in
the second stanza, but puts the device to different effect: rather than enhancing a sense of freedom, enjambment
in the second stanza emphasizes the caged bird’s claustrophobia and desperation.

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Another device Angelou uses to great effect in “Caged Bird” is repetition in various forms. The omniscient
speaker shifts between the perspectives of the free bird and the caged bird, a repetition that establishes the
juxtaposition between the two birds’ experiences and invites the reader to compare them. Repetition also occurs
on the line level: The last three lines of the second stanza (“his wings are clipped and / his feet are tied / so he
opens his throat to sing”) repeat exactly as the last two lines of the fifth stanza.
More significantly, the third stanza is repeated word-for-word in the final stanza. With her repetition, Angelou
draws the reader’s attention to the image of the bird singing his song of freedom. The effect is to underscore
how the caged bird, because he lacks the variety freedom offers, continues to sing as his only recourse for
expressing the longing his confinement engenders. In this way, the repetition highlights both the monotony of
the bird’s existence and his sustained resilience in the face of that monotony.
“Caged Bird” also uses repetition in the sense that its premise is a repetition of the basic conceptual idea of Paul
Laurence Dunbar’s 1899 poem “Sympathy,” in which the speaker sympathizes with a caged bird who beats its
wings against its cage and sings. Angelou used the line “I know why the caged bird sings!” for the title of her
1969 autobiography, and returned to the premise of a poetic speaker sympathizing with a caged bird in “Caged
Bird.” Angelou’s poem is in conversation with Dunbar’s symbolic verse about the bondage of slavery to
suggest that even from her post-Civil Rights Movement vantage, the legacy of white supremacy in the United
States continues to negatively impact the Black community.
Like Dunbar’s speaker, Angelou’s speaker sympathizes with the oppressed caged bird. Angelou’s speaker also
attributes an attitude of entitlement and obliviousness to the free bird, who “dares to claim the sky” and “names
the sky his own.” The free bird is akin to privileged white Americans who benefit from the inequality built into
the foundation of U.S. governance and the U.S. economy. By contrast, the caged bird is akin to Black
Americans who, despite being born into structures that limit their freedom and oppress them, sustain a spiritual
resilience that transcends their material conditions.

Caged Bird Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Birdsong (Symbol)
The caged bird’s song is a symbol for the freedom he longs for but has never known. Confined to a cage, the
bird uses the power of his voice to move through the airspace his body cannot access. Although the bird cannot
fly, he can still express his despair and his longing, which amounts to freedom in a symbolic form.
Fat Worms (Symbol)
The "fat worms" the free bird knows are waiting for him on lawns are a symbol for the free bird's entitlement.
The free bird never has to worry about hunger because the supply of worms always meets his needs. The
speaker contrasts the free bird's unquestioned supply of worms with the caged bird's longing for a freedom he
has never known; this contrast emphasizes the free bird's sense of ownership over the world he freely inhabits.
Racial Oppression (Allegory)
Through juxtaposing a bird who feels entitled to his freedom and a caged bird who longs for a freedom he has
never known, "Caged Bird" presents an allegory for the difference between how white and Black Americans,
respectively, experience their lives. While the free bird represents white Americans who are oblivious to their
privilege and feel a sense of ownership over the world they move through, the caged bird represents Black
Americans whose freedom is limited through systemic racism, economic oppression, and the intergenerational
trauma of slavery, segregation, and denial of civil rights. The speaker sympathizes with the caged bird, who
sings a beautiful and mournful song of freedom despite oppression.

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