The poem ÃÂCaged BirdÃÂ, written by Maya Angelou shows two main themes; social injustice and lack of freedom. The poem is based on the point of view of the poet brought up in Arkansas, U.S.A. in 1920sÃÂ when the racism towards black people was still around. With the real-life experiences, she expresses the distress and the sorrow of the caged bird representing black people. Maya Angelou use variety of language techniques, such as metaphor, rhyme, repetition as well as action verbs and structure to show contrast between captivity and freedom. She gives us message through the poem: people are equal and we should never be treated unfairly because of our race.
In the poem, the word ÃÂfree birdÃÂ is the metaphor of the white people. Stanza 1&4 shows the freedom and satisfaction of the white. ÃÂFree bird leaps/ floats downstream/ dips his wings in the orange sunÃÂs raysÃÂ in stanza 1 shows the natural and free condition white people are in, using lots of action verbs.
Image Page - BookGlutton on Stanza
English: Maya Angelou reciting her poem, "On the P...
Maya Angelou with Bloomberg and NadlerThe quote ÃÂdares to claim the skyÃÂ in stanza 1 and ÃÂnames the sky his ownÃÂ in stanza 4 are another examples of metaphor, showing the power white people enjoy and the dominating attitude they posses.
On the other hand, ÃÂthe caged birdÃÂ described as black people in the poem is portrayed in the dark mood. ÃÂNarrow cage/ bars of rage / wings are clipped and feet are tideÃÂ in stanza 2,3,5,6 make the contrast between the free bird and the cage bird. These imply the caged bird is restricted in its movement and readers can feel the distress and the rage of the bird, while the free bird enjoys its freedom to the full. ÃÂFearful thrill of the things unknownÃÂ in stanza 3&6 describe what the black people might have thought when they...