Caged Bird Annotated Notes

Caged Bird - Maya Angelou



Stanza One

Highlight the words that take stress. Look at how this varies from line to line. The pattern is not regular but compare the connection between line length, rhythm and the types of movement described ('leap', 'float') in, say, the first three lines.

How does the poet combine the elements of wind and water in the opening stanza? Why?

Find examples of repetition, internal assonance, monosyllabic diction (especially for verbs) and sibilance. What do they contribute to the tone? You might link this to the stanza being made up of one sentence in brief lines

Stanza Two

What is the effect of the opening word of stanza two? With which other word from stanza one is it being contrasted?

Contrast the verbs in this stanza with those in stanza one. Until the last line, only one is unmodified (what sort of movement does 'stalk' suggest compared to stanza one?) and two are in the passive. What point is here being made?

How is sibilance used differently in this stanza?

Compare the different effect of the alliteration of 'dip' and 'dare' in stanza one and 'bird' and 'bar' in stanza two

Compare the different effect of the assonance of 'wing' and 'clip' in stanza two and 'wing' and 'dip' in stanza one

How does the metaphor of line four give deeper meaning to the poem?

The final line is a surprise and establishes the paradox of the poem. How does the conjunction 'so' emphasise this?

How does the assonance of 'open' and 'throat' develop this irony when referring to a captive?

Stanza Three

The tone here is more like that of stanza one but there are crucial differences. Look at & comment on the vowel sounds and connotations of key words at line endings:
Stanza One - leap, wind, wing, rays, sky
Stanza Two - stalk, cage, rage, tied
Stanza Three - sing, trill, still, hill, freedom

Now look at adjectives which modify these in stanza three. What is the effect of:
Fearful trill
Things unknown
Distant hill

How does the final word of the final line give deeper meaning to the poem?

Stanza Four

How is the line length different and what effect does this have on the tone?

How does the final line link to the final line of stanza one?

List examples of assonance, sibilace, repetition and rhyme. How do they contribute to creating the image of the free bird in flight?

Stanza Five

How is the fifth stanza like the second in terms of grammar and imagery?

How do the images of stanza five contrast with those of stanza four eg. grave of dreams with dawn-bright lawn?

Compare the effect of sibilance here with the very different tone created in stanza four

Why are lines repeated from stanza two?

Stanza Six

How does repeating stanza three make a point? Does it have a different mood as a result? Is it significant that the poem ends with the word 'freedom'?

Overall

Divide the poem in two. How do the central ideas of the poem develop between each half?

What is the central paradox of the poem?

What is the central political message of the poem? Give key lines that emphasise this. Is the poem optimistic or ominous?

Which other poems in the anthology about freedom & injustice could the poem be linked to?



Caged Bird
Maya Angelou


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’s 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.