Name:
Directions: Answer the following
questions with text evidence from
“Caged Bird.”
“Caged Bird”
TextDependent
Questions
Learning Targets: CCSS RL.1,2,3,4,5
* Closely read a poem to gain a better
understanding of the author’s message.
* Cite textual evidence to support
responses about the poem
1. What is this poem is about. Explain why you believe this.
2. How does imagery impact the 1st stanza of the poem?
3. What claim can be made about the free bird in the first stanza? Cite evidence to support
the claim.
4. What is the mood of the second stanza in the poem? What words help to create this mood?
5. What can be inferred about the bird in the second stanza?
6. What claim can be made about the bird in the second stanza? Cite evidence to support the
claim.
7. Explain the metaphor “bars of rage” as used in the second paragraph. What does this line
mean? Explain.
8. What can you infer about the caged bird based on the third stanza? Cite evidence to
support your inference.
9. What freedom does the caged bird have? How does this freedom impact the caged bird?
10. What is the mood of the third stanza? What words create the mood? How does the mood
impact the overall meaning of the poem?
11. Based on the second and third stanza, how does the caged bird respond to its situation?
Cite textual evidence to support your answer. Explain what you can learn about the bird through
this response.
12. What is the mood of the fourth stanza? What words create the mood?
13. How does the author develop the free bird in the fourth stanza?
14. What can you infer the “trade winds” and “fat worms” represent or symbolize in the
fourth stanza? Explain.
15. What similar ideas are repeated in the first and fourth stanza? What impact does this have
on the poem?
16. Explain what the author means by the line “grave of dreams” as used in the fifth stanza.
Then, explain the connotation of the line.
17. What is the author metaphorically referring to when she says “his wings are clipped and his
feet are tied.”
18. Why does Angelou end the poem by repeating the third stanza? What is the message in
that stanza?
19. What is the central idea of the text? How does the central idea of the text develop over
the course of the poem?
20. What theme is established or developed in the poem? Cite evidence to support your answer.
21. This poem is titled “Caged Bird.” Why does the author also include stanzas about a free bird?
22. Explain where there is a noticeable shift or shifts in tone of the poem.
23. Select a word or phrase that you believe is significant in the poem. Then, explain how the
word or phrase contributes to the overall meaning of the poem.