"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou is a poem about the mind and how it makes consrictions for people. In my opinion the caged bird is a methapor for a person. Well a boy or man because the passage mentions the word "he" in the passage. The first paragraph mentions how a free bird acts and feel. While the second talks about the caged bird and how it is. What's wierd about this poem is each paragraph is structured diffrently. The reason why I think this is so. Is that the author probaly thought this would help with the theme or it could have been just a free write and it turned out this way. The theme of this poem is a person who knows what he or she wants doesn't hesitste to obtain it and doesn't fear the unknown and is confident in what it deos. While the "caged bird" looks for reasons to feel caged and is one who is a fearful of the unknown. Thus errupting in their own rage, which will eventually lead to their own downfall.
In the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou a bird is constrained in a cage with its wings clipped and feet tied. This bird is a metaphor for a slave that is as if trapped inside a cage. The only thing that gives the bird a sense of freedom is singing. He sings of trees, worms, and the sky. I believe that Maya Angelou wrote this poem to describe how slaves felt back when slavery existed. It shows the similarities of a caged bird to a slave and this poem showed how constrainment caused this bird to sing.
I think that this poem is extremely adept to interpretation. I myself have thought of many views in interpreting this poem, but I will settle on this view.
Journal Entry
I think that the poem has a nostalgic feeling to it. The caged bird is remembering the times it was free and unrestrained before befalling a depressing fate. To me, the caged bird symbolizes the power of inspiration. It (the caged bird) yearns to be free, and isn't losing hope, because it keeps singing.
In line 26 "But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams," indicated to me that though its attempts at freedom have been futile in the past, it still holds true the belief that it will be free again. There is also fluctuating tone shifts of Jubilant to Morose and vice-versa; from Stanza 1 to Stanza 2, Stanza 3 to Stanza 4, and Stanza 4 to Stanza 5 that show it reminiscing at first, then show its reality.
I thought that the imagery used in lines 12, 13, and 28 was to gain a visual perspective of the restraints on the caged bird. Furthermore, the fact that in spite of the grueling pain these restraints must deliver, it still sings, supports the theme of determination for what we want in life.
One thing about the setting that I found interesting was that I thought of 2 different perspectives of where it takes place. My first perspective, and probably the most obvious, was that the caged bird was in a dark, dank, and unpleasant room chained and binded to the cage, while he reminisces about freedom again. My second perspective was that the cage was outdoors in the open plain, but the caged bird was kept bound tightly in the cage. I felt that line 11 "his bars of rage" was a metaphor that indicated a taunting type of feeling. It's like the caged bird is so close to freedom, but so far away. The second perspective could also explain the vivid details in which the caged bird describes the wild blue yonder.
The overall speaker was the author, and she was narrating. The structural divisions are as follows:
1-7, 8-21, 22-25, 26-37
Solely based on tone, which I thought was a main driving force behind the poem, is my justification for the structural divisions.
4 comments:
"I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou is a poem about the mind and how it makes consrictions for people. In my opinion the caged bird is a methapor for a person. Well a boy or man because the passage mentions the word "he" in the passage. The first paragraph mentions how a free bird acts and feel. While the second talks about the caged bird and how it is. What's wierd about this poem is each paragraph is structured diffrently. The reason why I think this is so. Is that the author probaly thought this would help with the theme or it could have been just a free write and it turned out this way. The theme of this poem is a person who knows what he or she wants doesn't hesitste to obtain it and doesn't fear the unknown and is confident in what it deos. While the "caged bird" looks for reasons to feel caged and is one who is a fearful of the unknown. Thus errupting in their own rage, which will eventually lead to their own downfall.
In the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", by Maya Angelou a bird is constrained in a cage with its wings clipped and feet tied. This bird is a metaphor for a slave that is as if trapped inside a cage. The only thing that gives the bird a sense of freedom is singing. He sings of trees, worms, and the sky. I believe that Maya Angelou wrote this poem to describe how slaves felt back when slavery existed. It shows the similarities of a caged bird to a slave and this poem showed how constrainment caused this bird to sing.
Preamble
I think that this poem is extremely adept to interpretation. I myself have thought of many views in interpreting this poem, but I will settle on this view.
Journal Entry
I think that the poem has a nostalgic feeling to it.
The caged bird is remembering the times it was free and unrestrained before befalling a depressing fate. To me, the caged bird symbolizes the power of inspiration. It (the caged bird) yearns to be free, and isn't losing hope, because it keeps singing.
In line 26 "But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams," indicated to me that though its attempts at freedom have been futile in the past, it still holds true the belief that it will be free again. There is also fluctuating tone shifts of Jubilant to Morose and vice-versa; from Stanza 1 to Stanza 2, Stanza 3 to Stanza 4, and Stanza 4 to Stanza 5 that show it reminiscing at first, then show its reality.
I thought that the imagery used in lines 12, 13, and 28 was to gain a visual perspective of the restraints on the caged bird. Furthermore, the fact that in spite of the grueling pain these restraints must deliver, it still sings, supports the theme of determination for what we want in life.
One thing about the setting that I found interesting was that I thought of 2 different perspectives of where it takes place. My first perspective, and probably the most obvious, was that the caged bird was in a dark, dank, and unpleasant room chained and binded to the cage, while he reminisces about freedom again. My second perspective was that the cage was outdoors in the open plain, but the caged bird was kept bound tightly in the cage. I felt that line 11 "his bars of rage" was a metaphor that indicated a taunting type of feeling. It's like the caged bird is so close to freedom, but so far away. The second perspective could also explain the vivid details in which the caged bird describes the wild blue yonder.
The overall speaker was the author, and she was narrating. The structural divisions are as follows:
1-7, 8-21, 22-25, 26-37
Solely based on tone, which I thought was a main driving force behind the poem, is my justification for the structural divisions.
~K.
Ah, Maya Angelou. She can do no wrong.
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