Caged Bird BY M AYA ANGE LOU

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.

Analysis, Stanza by Stanza

Stanza One
In the first stanza, Maya Angelou refers to nature. She describes the way “a free
bird leaps on the back of the wind”. She describes the bird’s flight against the
orange sky. The free bird has the right “to claim the sky”. The way she describes
the “orange sun rays” gives the reader an appreciation for the natural beauty of
the sky, and her description of the way the bird “dips his wing” helps the reader
to appreciate the bird in his natural habitat, enjoying his freedom.

Stanza Two
This stanza of ‘Caged Bird’ is in complete contrast with the first. By using the
word “but” to begin this stanza, the speaker prepares the reader for this
contrast. Then she describes the “bird that stalks his narrow cage”. The tone is
immediately and harshly changed from peaceful, satisfied, and joyful to one
that is dark, scary, and even frustrating. She describes that this caged first “can
seldom see through his bars of rage”. While the free bird gets to enjoy the full
sky, the caged bird rarely even gets a glimpse of the sky. She claims that “his
wings are clipped and his feet are tied”.

 The speaker then reveals that these are the very reasons that the bird
“opens his throat to sing”.

 The author felt this way in her own life. She wrote and sang and danced
because it was her way of expressing her longing for freedom.
Stanza Three
The third stanza returns back to the free bird, further strengthening the
difference between the free bird and the caged bird in the minds of the
readers. She writes that a “free bird thinks of another breeze” that he can enjoy
the “sighing trees” and be free to find his own food. The tone with which she
writes the first and third stanzas so sharply contrasts with the second
stanza, that readers can feel the difference. The first and third stanzas give
the reader a sense of joy / delight and thrill, which serve to make the
second stanza seem oppressive.

Stanza Four
The fourth stanza of ‘Caged Bird’ continues the parallel between the free bird
and the caged bird. The first line serves to plainly contrast the last line in the
third stanza. It is dark and frightening. The reality of the life of the caged bird is
revealed in this line.
Mentioning of ‘fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn brings around a
predatorial/prey contrast too. It would be the worms that would be scared for
their life, losing freedom as the birds feed upon such prey. However, with a
bird entrapped by a cage, the worms are the ones that have the freedom,
compared to the caged bird.
Stanza Five
That bird, “stands on the grave of dreams”. This reveals the author’s feelings
about her own dreams. She has so many dreams that have died because she
was never given the freedom to achieve all that her white colleagues were able
to achieve. Discrimination and Racism made up her cage, and although she
sang, she felt her voice was not heard in the wide world, but only by those
nearest her cage. The second line of this stanza is not only dark but even
frightening.
The speaker describes the bird’s cries as “shouts on a nightmare scream”. At
this point, the caged bird is so hopeless in his life of captivity that his screams
are like that of someone having a nightmare. The author then repeats these
lines: His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
Repeating the idea that the bird opens his mouth to sing because his desire for
freedom and his desire to express himself cannot be contained.
Stanza Six
This last stanza focuses on the caged bird yet again. The author implies that
even though the caged bird may have never experienced true freedom, deep
down that bird still knows that it was created to be free. Although freedom, to
the caged bird, is “fearful” because it is “unknown”, he still sings “a fearful trill”
because he still longed for freedom.
➢ Here, the speaker reveals that his cry for freedom is “heard on the distant
hill”. This parallels to the author and her cry for freedom in the form of
equality. She feels that her cries are heard, but only as soft background
noise. She still feels that she is caged and that although she sings, her
cries are heard only as a distant noise.
The last line states, “For the caged bird sings of freedom”. With this, the
speaker implies that although the caged bird may never have experienced
freedom, he still sings of it because he was created for freedom.

Themes
‘Caged Bird’ is filled with powerful themes. These include racial oppression,
self-awareness, freedom/captivity, and happiness/sorrow. Angelou is referring
to the lived experience of millions of men, women, and children since the
beginning of time and the variety of oppressive tactics, whether physical,
mental, or economic employed by those in power. The bird sings from a place
of sadness rather than joy in order to convey a broader history of sorrow.
» This is paralleled to the mobs’ struggle in ”A Tale of Two Cities”. They
feel that they cried out for the freedom they deserved, but they were
only heard as a distant voice. Yet, this would not stop them from crying
out for freedom and equality because they knew they were made for
freedom, and they would not surrender until they were given their rights
as human beings to enjoy the freedom they were created to enjoy.
Questions
Q1- What do the words “dares to claim the sky” mean?
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Q2- What is the message of Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird”?
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Q3- How is the theme of self-awareness shown in the poem?
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Q4- What effect do you think repetition has in this poem?
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Q5- Why do you think the poet presents the free bird before describing
the caged bird?
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Sort out a sound device / figure of speech and explain it.
a. Alliteration: ………………………. / ……………………………..
b. Personification: ……………………………………………………
c. Metaphor: ………………………………………………………….