Analysis of Caged Bird
Maya Angelou 1928 (St. Louis) – 2014 (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
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 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.
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.
Scheme | xxaxbxx xcxcxdB EFGFHFHI jjxg xadB EFGFHFHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111 101101 0111 10101 0111 001011 011101 10111 11101 11011 1111 11110 1111 11101111 0111 10101 1101 1111 01111 10101 1011 1110 011110101 0011110101 00111010111 0110111 1011110111 1111011 111101111 11101111 0111 10101 1101 1111 01111 10101 1011 1110 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,030 |
Words | 223 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 8, 4, 4, 8 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 128 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
About this poem
In all, the caged bird portrays a Black community that has been terrorized by oppression, but that nonetheless continues to year and work for freedom. The free bird symbolizes the white community, which has oppressed Black people.
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