Caged bird
The poem caged bird was written by Maya Angelou.
Maya Angelou was a poet, author and civil right activist. She was born on April
4, 1928 and died on May 28, 2014. Angelou publish her autobiography “I Know Why
the Caged Bird Sings” in 1969.
The poem
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
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
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.
Meaning
“A free bird leapson the back of the windand floats downstreamtill the current endsand dips his wingin the orange sun rays”
Angelou sets up an extended
metaphor contrasting the free bird with the caged bird. The
free bird could represent either white Americans, who have historically
benefited from legal, economic, and social freedoms other races haven’t, or
African-Americans once the dream of freedom becomes reality.
The free bird “leaps on the back of the wind,” evoking the idea of
jumping for joy or reaching for opportunity–both of which can only be done in
complete freedom.
“and dares to claim the sky.”
Angelou uses a “free bird” to symbolize a group of people that has
gone from slavery to freedom but still struggles with the oppression of racism:
African-Americans. In writing that the bird “dares to claim the sky”,
Angelou suggests that African-Americans in the first half of the twentieth
century attempted to expand upon or enjoy their freedom in the United States.
In the usage of the word “claim”, Angelou refers to the fact that
African Americans at the time were entering a time in which they could strive
to own property and achieve success, or aim towards achieving all that is
associated with the American Dream.
The “sky” in this case represents the indefiniteness of possibilities
that could come from freedom and the infinite possibilities that the American
Dream represented.
“But a bird that stalksdown his narrow cage”
The “narrow cage” represents racism and social constructs of
society that kept African Americans at a lower social status.
Racism literally bars those who fall victim to it into a cage
because they cannot act or exist in the eyes of others outside of racist
beliefs. Because of this cage, the bird can only “stalks down his narrow
cage” and remain confined by racism
“can seldom see throughhis bars of rage”
The bird, (or in the metaphor, the slave), can’t see through the
bars of rage. He hates being trapped in the prison of racism and all he sees is
rage from being encased in a world full of hate toward people like him for
trivial reasons. He’s surrounded by these people and can’t escape their
comments or torment, so he is actually “caged in” that way too.
“his wings are clipped andhis feet are tiedso he opens his throat to sing.”
As the bird is entrapped, his wings “clipped”, and his feet “tied”
by racism, he attempts to express himself by singing, the only form of freedom
left in a society filled with racism.
Angelou uses singing to represent a form of freedom,
self-expression, that the bird struggles to find. Historically, music and
singing was literally how African Americans sought freedom.
“The caged bird singswith a fearful trillof things unknown
but longed for still”
Though the caged bird sings and longs for freedom, it’s notes are
fearful — weak because it is unsure if it will ever be free.
“for the caged birdsings of freedom.”
Because the caged bird’s singing, its only form of self-expression,
is of freedom. Caged and oppressed by racism, African Americans at the time
dreamed of a freedom to exist without the judgments and stereotypes of racism
and claim the sky. In a larger sense, the bald eagle symbolizes the
freedom and strength of the United States, while Angelou’s bird symbolizes a
group of people that struggles to gain this same freedom and strength in the
United States.
“The free bird thinks of another breezeand the trade winds soft through the sighing treesand the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawnand he names the sky his own”
This free bird can be concerned with “another breeze,” or ideas
other than freedom, which allows him to name “the sky his own.” Lacking the
constraints of societal racism, whites have historically been free to achieve
success and strive toward the American Dream.
“But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams”
The “grave of dreams” referred to here is the loss of hope and the
failure in achieving the American Dream, which cannot truly be reached without
complete freedom.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is Maya Angelou's autobiography, published on 1969.
the book was criticized by many parents, causing his removal from school reading lists and library shelves. The reason for that is that the book displays depictions of lesbianism, premarital cohabitation, pornography, and violence, also by his use of language, and irreverent depictions of religion.
![](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PJx9DfUnL._SX301_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
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