"Caged Bird" By Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing 5
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through 10
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings 15
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill 20
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 25
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. 30

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard 35
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Questions:
What is the central juxtaposition in the poem? Compare and contrast the two things that the speaker juxtaposes. Discuss examples of the speaker's diction that develop this contrast (e. g., "leaps" in line 1 and "stalks” in line 8).

What symbolic meaning(s) might the birds in the poem have?

What is the significance of singing in the poem? If the bird is singing of things unknown and feared,
why does he still long for them? Why is his tune heard "on the distant hill” (line 20)?

Why is the free bird thinking of “another breeze" (line 23) and “trade winds” (line 24)? What do
the images of “sighing trees” (line 24) and “fat worms" (line 25) suggest, and what might they represent symbolically?

What political and historical meanings do you think the poem is conveying?

The title of Angelou's first autobiography is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. What does her choice
of that title suggest about her personal relationship to this poem and to “Sympathy”?