I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
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.
Analysis
Maya Angelou lived in a time of discrimination against her own ethnicity. There
weren’t laws giving African Americans freedom of rights.
In this poem, Angelou uses a comparison between a free bird and a caged bird, one
representing the freedom of African Americans, and one describing their circumstance now.
I really like how almost every line can tie in to the situation she lived in. For example, “bars
of fury” describes the anger of the African Americans, and “wings are clipped” shows that
the African Americans are unable to do anything about it, and so they “open their throat to
sing,” or to voice their concern because it is the only way to bring any notice to themselves.
I really like the way Angelou almost knows what the caged bird thinks, and how
personal and deeply connected her identity and the identity of the caged bird are.
The comparison between the two birds allows us to see inequality of her time. She
describes freedom as something almost untouchable and unheard of, just as it would have
been back then, and the other way around, the caged bird as one desperate and yearning to
be set free.
Lastly, her repetition of the third and sixth stanza emphasizes the meaning behind
the caged bird. The cries of freedom (“longed for still”) do not go unnoticed, as it is “heard
on the distant hill,” however, the caged birds remained locked up and is not set free. The
same goes for the African Americans of the time – they cried for rights but were shot down
and things did not change.