Caged Bird Related Poem Content Details BY 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 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.

The "cage" in the poem above can best be said to represent _____.

A)oppression
B)paralysis
C)fear
D)disappointment

"I know why the caged bird sings" is an autobiography written by American author Maya Angelou and first published in 1969. In it there is a short poem that speaks about the difference between a caged bird and a free one. The author used the cage as a symbolism for oppression, more specifically the oppression of the black community in the United States. She used the cage and the caged bird to draw a parallelism between the animal that has no freedom, and the slaves of America, to portray their suffering and the unfairness of oppression.