Poets commonly talk about issues in society by using figurative language to avoid offending civilization. “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou addresses the huge issue that some humans are repressed while others live free. Angelou uses figurative language such as synecdoches, juxtaposing a caged bird to a free bird, which signifies the natural born rights and freedom that people have, while the caged bird represents people who are repressed and, unfortunately, do not have these rights.
The overall message of the poem is highlighting the idea of freedom and natural born rights, and how certain people have these rights, but others have these rights taken away from them. An example of this idea coming up in the poem is when Angelou states, “A free bird leaps/on the back of the wind/and floats …show more content…
Towards the end of the poem, the poem reads, “The free bird thinks of another breeze.../and he names the sky his own/But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/...his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing”(23-30). This quote shows the contrast between the two birds, which is a symbol for dark and light. The author first talks about the free bird using very positive and optimistic language while the caged bird is being described using very negative, pessimistic language. The poet uses a refrain to sum up her ideas and to help the reader fully comprehend the emotion and feeling that the caged bird feels. “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” (31-38). The refrain comes up in the poem because Angelou uses it to sum up her ideas about the differences between the two birds. She also uses the refrain to help the poem flow so the reader can focus more on the caged bird rather than the free
The overall message of the poem is highlighting the idea of freedom and natural born rights, and how certain people have these rights, but others have these rights taken away from them. An example of this idea coming up in the poem is when Angelou states, “A free bird leaps/on the back of the wind/and floats …show more content…
Towards the end of the poem, the poem reads, “The free bird thinks of another breeze.../and he names the sky his own/But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams/...his wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing”(23-30). This quote shows the contrast between the two birds, which is a symbol for dark and light. The author first talks about the free bird using very positive and optimistic language while the caged bird is being described using very negative, pessimistic language. The poet uses a refrain to sum up her ideas and to help the reader fully comprehend the emotion and feeling that the caged bird feels. “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” (31-38). The refrain comes up in the poem because Angelou uses it to sum up her ideas about the differences between the two birds. She also uses the refrain to help the poem flow so the reader can focus more on the caged bird rather than the free