1. Caged Bird by: Maya Angelou
Buker/Rollins
Block 3/4
April 24, 2015
Caged Bird by: Maya Angelou

2. Maya Angelou
Never went to college, yet has received over thirty doctoral degrees
Received Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010
Was also a talented actress, dancer, and screenwriter
Was the first black female director in
Hollywood
Has written seven autobiographies,
focusing mainly on her childhood

3. Poem excerpt 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.
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.

4. Continued
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.

5. Personification
Definition: when objects or animals are described with human-like qualities Example: “The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees” Explanation: Since sighing usually expresses sadness or in this case relief, the poet uses this personification to convey the contrastingly better life of the free bird. Unlike the caged bird, it lives a carefree life full of freedom.

6. Imagery
Definition: The usage of vivid and descriptive language to add depth and paint a picture in the reader’s mind Example: “and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn” Explanation: The poet uses lots of imagery when describing the land of the free bird, in order to show how fortunate it is. The fact that there are “fat worms” just waiting on the lawn to be eaten, shows the lavish life style of the free bird.

7. Theme
Since this poem is an allusion to the segregation at the time of Maya Angelou’s childhood and young adulthood…
The struggles of the “caged bird” convey the theme that racism serves as a strong barrier that suffocates an individual’s thoughts
However, Angelou constantly writes that the caged bird still “opens his throat to sing” despite being chained down
This shows the theme of perseverance and refusal to give up your own opinion, since it’s the only thing that somebody can’t take away from you. The caged bird can be tied up and put away in a cage, but it will always keep singing…