Caged Bird Stanza Analysis

CAGED BIRD STANZA ANALYSIS
FIRST
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.
In the first stanza, Maya Angelou refers to nature. She describes how “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 how the bird “dips his wing” helps the reader to appreciate the
bird in his natural habitat enjoying his freedom.
SECOND
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
(…)
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
This stanza of ‘Caged Bird’ contrasts sharply 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 enjoys the full sky, the caged bird rarely even gets a glimpse of the sky. She claims
“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 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.
THIRD
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
(…)
for the caged bird
sings 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 readers’ minds.
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, making the second stanza seem all the more droll and even oppressive.
FOURTH
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.
FIFTH
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 could. 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.
SIXTH
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
(…)
for the caged bird
sings 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 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 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.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the ‘Caged Bird’ poem about?

2. What does the caged bird symbolize?
3. What is the main message of the poem ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?’
4. How is freedom ironic in ‘Caged Bird?’
5. Why does the caged bird stand on the grave of dreams?

Caged Bird Stanza Analysis

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Caged Bird Stanza Analysis

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CAGED BIRD STANZA ANALYSIS

His wings are clipped and his feet are tied

So he opens his throat to sing.

1. What is the ‘Caged Bird’ poem about?

You might also like