I+Know+Why+the+Caged+Bird+Sings

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=i. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings=

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.


 * //Compare to://**
 * "Blackbird" by The Beatles**

Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the night of the dark black night

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night

Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise

//**Literary Techniques:**//
 * i. Personification **
 * In the poem:** and he names the sky as his own; his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
 * In the song:** Take these sunken eyes and learn to see

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

A common personification within the poem and the song is the image of the bird. This bird has a meaning, which can be found below in Symbolism. However, a (black)bird cannot names the sky his own or take sunken eyes and learn to see. Shadows also cannot scream.


 * ii. Symbolism **
 * In the poem: ** The free bird; the caged bird
 * In the song: ** Blackbird, broken wings

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities; symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts.

The symbolism between the free and caged birds is the state of slavery. Angelou was a poet who based many works on civil rights, and this is an example of such. The free bird is the free man, able to do whatever he is capable of, allowed to live life as it was meant to be lived. The caged bird is an enslaved man, who longed for freedom as the free man had. The blackbird mentioned in song has actually been explained to be symbolic of an African-American girl, who takes whatever has been broken in her life—be it physical, emotional, or mental—and takes her freedom back.


 * iii. Repetition **
 * In the poem: ** 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.
 * In the song: ** You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

The action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

The repetition of these lines hints at a bigger meaning behind the words or emphasizes their importance. This also points to the genre or an underlying tone that the poet is trying to convey through repeating these words.