Name:
Date:
Class:
Assignment #:
Sympathy
Paul Laurence Dunbar
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes1,
And the faint perfume from its chalice2 steals-I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain3 would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting-I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,-When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-I know why the caged bird sings!
Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet, novelist, and playwright of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries.
Born: June 27, 1872/ Died: February 9, 1906
Education: Howard University
Spouse: Alice Dunbar Nelson (m. 1898–1906)
1
Line 5: opes = opens
Line 6: chalice = a cup or goblet
3
Line 11: fain = happily, gladly
2
Name:
Date:
Period:
Assignment #:
Taking Poems APART
Directions: Fill in the following chart by thoroughly answering each question using complete sentences.
A:
Author and
Title
P:
What do we know about the author?
What is the title of the poem. What do you think it means? What year was the poem written?
On the back of this paper, paraphrase the poem by rewriting each line in your own words. In this box,
summarize what the poem is talking about.
Paraphrase
A:
What is the speaker’s tone/attitude?
Attitude and
Tone
R:
What rhetorical/poetic devices do you see in the poem? Find at least two different devices, write the
lines and line numbers, and then explain what the devices are.
Rhetorical
and Poetic
Devices
T:
Theme and
Message
What is the theme of the poem? What is the message to the reader or the lesson to be learned by
reading the poem?
“Sympathy” Analysis
Directions: Answer the following questions in at least 3-4 complete sentences each. Be sure to cite line numbers!
1. What could the “caged bird” possibly be considered a symbol of?
2. What are some of the elements outside of the bird’s cage in the poem? What could they be considered symbols
for?
3. What are some prominent elements inside of the bird’s cage? What could they be considered symbols for?
4. According to the speaker, what does “the caged bird feel” (stanza 1)? How can you tell?
5. Why do you think the speaker claims to understand “why the caged bird sings” (stanza 3)?
7. Why do you think the poem is titled “Sympathy”?