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<\/p>\nIn this, you are going to go through Line By Line Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature. Understanding a text meticulously in its totality is very important for a learner for scoring better in the ICSE Board exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Line By Line Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature.<\/p>\n
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Maya Angelou was an acclaimed American poet, storyteller, singer, memoirist and autobiographies. She was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri on April 4, 1928. She is widely regarded as the \u201c Black Women\u2019s Poet Laureate\u201d. She spent much of her childhood in there of her paternal grandmother in rural Stamps, Arkansas. When she was nearly eight years old, she was ravished by her mother\u2019s boyfriend and told of it, after which he was murdered; the traumatic situation left her dumbstruck for nearly five long years! She was best known for her seven autobiographical books:<\/p>\n
which was nominated for the Nation Book Award. Her poetry: Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water \u2018fore I Diiie\u2019(1971), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Her autobiographies reflect the themes of economic, racial and sexual oppression. She found encouragement for her literary talents at the Harlem Writers\u2019 Guild<\/p>\n
Among numerous honours was her invitation to compose and deliver a poem, \u201cOn the Pulse of Morning\u201d, for the inauguration of U.S President Bill Clinton in 1993. One of her famous quotes is \u201c There is no agony than bearing an untold story inside you\u201d. These lines portrayed her utmost zeal to voice her opinions. Further, critic Robert B. Stepto praises her for borrowing \u201c various folks rhythms and forms and thereby buttresses her poems by evoking aspects of a culture\u2019s written and unwritten heritage\u201d.<\/p>\n
The poem \u201c I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u201d also known as \u201c Caged Bird\u201d was published in the year 1983 in the poetry collection \u201cShaker, Why Don\u2019t You Sing?\u201d It describes the early years of the American writer and poet and conveys the notion of how the strength of character and love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. It is said that the writers James Baldwin and cartoonist Julie Feiffer inspired
\nher to write this famous workpiece. The poem can be seen as a portrayal of social disparity, and the ideals of freedom and justice. Angelo, with the use of metaphorical birds, represents the inequality of justice seen in the society of her time which differentiates between the African-American community and its White counterparts. It is a heart-wrenching poem that reflects on the mindless oppression the Blacks were subjected to back in olden days. Maya Angelou takes her title from Paul Lawrence Dunbar\u2019s poem entitled Sympathy. Dunbar\u2019s caged bird sings from the frustration of imprisonment; its song is a form of prayer. In addition, Angelou\u2019s caged bird sings also from frustration, in doing so, she uncovers the fact that the song transforms the cage from a prison that denies selfhood to a vehicle for self-realization.<\/p>\n
A free bird leaps<\/p>\n
on the back of the wind<\/p>\n
and floats downstream<\/p>\n
till the current ends<\/p>\n
and dips his wing<\/p>\n
in the orange sun rays<\/p>\n
and dares to claim the sky.<\/p>\n
But a bird that stalks<\/p>\n
down his narrow cage<\/p>\n
can seldom see through<\/p>\n
his bars of rage<\/p>\n
his wings are clipped and<\/p>\n
his feet are tied<\/p>\n
so he opens his throat to sing.<\/p>\n
The caged bird sings<\/p>\n
with a fearful trill<\/p>\n
of things unknown<\/p>\n
but longed for still<\/p>\n
and his tune is heard<\/p>\n
on the distant hill<\/p>\n
for the caged bird<\/p>\n
sings of freedom.<\/p>\n
The free bird thinks of another breeze<\/p>\n
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees<\/p>\n
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn<\/p>\n
and he names the sky his own<\/p>\n
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams<\/p>\n
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream<\/p>\n
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied<\/p>\n
so he opens his throat to sing.<\/p>\n
The caged bird sings<\/p>\n
with a fearful trill<\/p>\n
of things unknown<\/p>\n
but longed for still<\/p>\n
and his tune is heard<\/p>\n
on the distant hill<\/p>\n
for the caged bird<\/p>\n
sings of freedom.<\/p>\n
The poem is a free verse. There are a total of six stanzas in the poem with the third stanza being repeated at the end. Each line begins with a capital letter and the rest are in small letters. The poet has not used any comma, semicolon at the end, indicating the rhythmic flow of the verse. Angelo does not allow meter, rhyme, and stanza to control her poetry. She allowed the unrestricted flow in the sentences to intensify the importance of freedom in life. In the 36 lined poem, all the lines are very unembellished which helps to convey the complete meaning. In each sentence of the poem, the noun is placed in front of the verb, which might be because the poet wanted the readers to focus on the differences between the lives of the two birds that are caged and free and bring out their different dreams. This poem derives its power from rich vibrant imagery that encourages the readers to appreciate and interpret the poem in a variety of ways. The number of syllables in each line is inconsistent. There is a repetition of the word \u201cfreedom\u201d. Also, the third stanza is also repeated at the end which brings out the importance of freedom in the life of every being.<\/p>\n
There are many poetic devices in the poem. Some of them are discussed below:-<\/p>\n
1. Metaphor<\/strong> \u2013 A figure of speech in which a comparison between two different things is implied, but not clearly stated. 2. Repetition<\/strong> \u2013 The third stanza is repeated at the end.<\/p>\n \u201cThe caged bird sings<\/p>\n with a fearful trill<\/p>\n of things unknown<\/p>\n but longed for still<\/p>\n and his tune is heard<\/p>\n on the distant hill<\/p>\n for the caged bird<\/p>\n sings of freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Personification<\/strong>\u2013The abstract ideas are invested with personality and both inanimate and abstract ideas are endowed with the attributes of living beings. The example of personification in this poem is \u201c His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream\u201d, here shadow is personified.<\/p>\n 4. Hyperbole\u2013 It is identified as an extravagant exaggeration, not to be taken literally but used figuratively to create emphasis.<\/p>\n 5. Allusion\u2013 The title of the poem is a reference to Paul Laurence Dunbar\u2019s poem \u201cSympathy\u201d.<\/p>\n There are various themes of the poem and it touches a wide arena of perspectives.<\/p>\n 1. Freedom versus Enslavement:<\/strong> The theme of freedom and confinement I.e. enslavement is prominent throughout the poem. The portrayal of the free bird living a life of phenomenal joy and liberty stands for freedom, while enslavement is symbolized by the shackled life of the caged bird whose \u201cwings, are clipped and his feet are tied\u201d.<\/p>\n The poem begins with a free leaping bird gliding in the open sky and is exposed to all the pleasures of freed self.<\/p>\n A free bird leaps<\/em><\/p>\n on the back of the wind<\/em><\/p>\n and floats downstream<\/em><\/p>\n However, the caged bird lives an enslaved life in a \u201cnarrow cage\u201d. It represents the social disparity between the Whites and the African-American communities during the times of the Civil War<\/p>\n Moreover, the free bird is aware of its freedom and dares to claim the sky it\u2019s own. It flies through the orange hue of the sky and dips its wings. With the use of the colour imagery of orange rays, the effect heightens -as orange is a colour associated with glow and contentment.<\/p>\n The free bird thinks of another breeze I.e. the wishes to get the most of his liberty and also feeds on \u201c fat worms\u201d; on the contrary, the only thing attainable for the caged bird is his voice through which it can sing his song of unmeasured melancholy. Singing is symbolic of his rebellion against oppression. The idea of freedom is \u201cunknown\u201d to him yet the bird yearns for the long awaiting enjoyment. An abolitionist Frederick Douglass once said, \u201c Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy\u201d. The poem ends on a positive remark as the voice of the caged bird is heard on a distant hill \u201c and his voice is heard on a distant hill\u201d.<\/p>\n Racism and Slaver<\/strong>y: The poem conveys the pent up sentiments of the poet against racial discrimination and social injustice in the form of slavery which was prevalent in America in the Civil War era. Though the poet never mentions it directly. The \u201cfree\u201d bird represents the privileged Whites whereas the \u201ccaged\u201d bird an extended metaphor depicts the enslaved African \u2013 American community of America. It captures the overwhelming agony and barbarity of oppression of the marginalized communities by relating it to the misery of the forever caged bird. Until 1965, under a system of racial segregation, named \u201c Jim Crow\u201d the blacks of the Southern United States, lived in poverty. They were denied basic needs like the right to vote, public transport owing to their colour.<\/p>\n The caged bird is the reference to the social, mental suffering of the African-American Blacks. The bird could not fly on his own will and ambition.<\/p>\n The purpose of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou is to make sense of what has happened to her and to provide hope for other survivors. The meaning of this powerful autobiography is that one should never lose hope.<\/p>\n In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first autobiographical book by Maya Angelou, the acclaimed author gives readers a profound education about the lives of black people in the American South during the 1930s.<\/p>\n The message of Maya Angelou’s poem \u201cCaged Bird\u201d seems to be that any person who is oppressed or \u201ccaged\u201d will always continue to \u201clong\u201d for freedom, knowing that if others are entitled to it, they should be entitled to it, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\u201d is historically significant because it not only reminds the readers of the horrors our society has avoided repeating, but details the pain and loss that black people endured at such a cruel point in American history.<\/p>\n After the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Angelou was inspired by a meeting with writer James Baldwin and cartoonist Jules Feiffer to write I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a way of dealing with the death of her friend and to draw attention to her own personal struggles with racism.<\/p>\n The first metaphor is of the free bird that is for the white Americans or free people, while the caged bird is the metaphor of African Americans and their captivity in the social norms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Line By Line Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature In this, you are going to go through Line By Line Analysis Of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature. Understanding a text meticulously in … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35226"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35226"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36061,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35226\/revisions\/36061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcqbooks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nExamples in the poem are:<\/p>\n\n
Theme Of The Poem<\/h3>\n
Questions And Answers<\/h3>\n
What is the overall meaning of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?<\/h4>\n
Why you should read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?<\/h4>\n
What is the author’s message in Caged Bird?<\/h4>\n
Why is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings still relevant today?<\/h4>\n
Why Maya Angelou wrote caged bird?<\/h4>\n
What is the metaphor in Caged bird?<\/h4>\n