Caged Bird

“The free bird leaps

on the back of the wind..”

Maya Angelou

(Full poem unable to be reproduced due to copyright)

VOCABULARY
Downstream — down the river

Seldom — not very often

Wings are clipped — it is common to “clip” the feathers of a pet bird, to cut them back so they don’t
work; this stops the bird from flying away but many people see it as cruel and a restriction on their
freedom

Trade winds — the winds that blow east to west along either side of the equator - these are called
“trade winds” because they help ships carrying cargo to travel smoothly from one side of the world to
the other

Trill — a musical sound that a bird makes, in this case it is a “fearful trill”, a warning

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 STORY / SUMMARY
The lyric poem makes a comparison between two types of birds: birds that
are free, and birds that are caged.

Stanza 1: When a bird is free it claims the sky by flying.

Stanza 2: When a caged bird is unable to fly because his wings are clipped
and his legs are tied, he sings a song.

Stanza 3: The caged bird trills for his sound to be heard from afar — and
sings of freedom.

Stanza 4: A free bird thinks of nice breezes and times where the fat worms
are ready to be eaten, and he calls the sky his own.

Stanza 5: A caged bird is tied and clipped, he has a “nightmare scream” that
shows his suffering.

Stanza 6: The caged bird trills for his sound to be heard from afar — stanza
3 and stanza 6 are the same, they are a refrain that repeats and underscores
the ideas of the poem, the main idea being that a caged bird sings of
freedom.

SPEAKER / VOICE
The poem is written in the third person, likely the poet herself is speaking.
However, the voice is not personal, it’s objectively telling a story and
describing a situation — the general situation of free and caged birds. This
is an analogy for the general situation of free and oppressed people in the
world.

LANGUAGE FEATURES
• Repetition — the state of the “caged bird” is repeatedly juxtaposed with the “free bird” so that
the reader is encouraged to compare the similarities and differences between the two. We imagine
that these birds are identical in breed and type, the only difference being that one is free, happy, and
able to do what it wants whereas the other is oppressed and can only find happiness in singing and
thinking of freedom.

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• A shift in tone — each stanza shifts from positive to negative, when it’s talking about the free bird
the tone is positive, whereas when it’s talking about the caged bird the tone is negative - free birds
can do anything and enjoy their lives, but caged birds are very limited and the only thing they can
do that brings them joy is to “sing of freedom”. The poet makes the point that being free is much
better than being caged, we feel happy for the free birds and sad for the caged birds (it creates
empathy in the reader).

• Visual Imagery — the “free bird leaps / on the back of the wind / and floats downstream” whereas
the “trapped bird stalks / down his narrow cage”; the juxtaposition of natural and manmade,
positive and negative imagery, helps us to better imagine the differences between the two.

• Connotation — the free bird “dares to claim the sky”, the verb “dare” has connotations of arrogance
as if the free bird is so liberated that he or she can afford to be daring with behaviour because of the
lack of risk or pressure imposed upon him/her.

STRUCTURE / FORM
• The poem is structured like a song, with a repeating chorus. The third and sixth stanza is the same,
like a chorus in a song (this repeats the idea of the birds singing). We could call this a refrain — a
stanza to which the ideas of the poem continually return.

• Most stanzas are short, but stanzas four and five are longer, perhaps to give extra detail and stress
the difference in lifestyle between the two birds.

• Each stanza is end-stopped — it finishes with a full stop, making a complete idea by itself.

• The present tense is used to describe the actions of the birds as if they exist now, at this moment.

ATTITUDES
There’s a difference in attitude and behaviour between a free and a caged bird. The free bird is
happy and enjoys life. The caged bird is trapped and can only sing, sometimes scream. This shows the
difference in attitude between something that is free and something that is caged, suggesting that
people behave in a similar way and that they are only happy if they’re free. The caged bird can only think
positively about being free.

Because the poem is a metaphor for what happened to African Americans in the 1700-mid 1900s
(slavery, segregation, and being treated as second class citizens), Angelou is suggesting that these
people can only be happy when they are fully free. She explains the conditions of oppression and
freedom, and how the same soul and the same species can behave very differently if they are in one
state or another. The effect is to make the reader realise that being free is a state of privilege and luxury,
and it should be appreciated.

Oppression of all kinds should be eradicated — there is a strong political undercurrent to the poem.
Though it is inspired by the plight of African Americans, its general and archetypal nature suggests that
no matter whether it’s because of race, poverty, culture, or society — all forms of oppression prevent
individuals from leading free, fulfilling lives. While in a state of oppression, the only thing a person can
think of is how difficult their lives are, and how they crave freedom. The poem’s inspirational message
encourages us all to fight for the freedom of individuals.

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CONTEXT
• The title “Caged Bird” suggests that while there are two subjects in the poem — the
caged bird and the free bird — the former bird that is trapped is really the main focus.
Angelou encourages both trapped and free people alike to listen to her poem and
empathise with the plight of oppressed people. Those who are trapped may better
understand their difficulties and lack of privileges, whereas those who are free may better
appreciate what they have and work harder to free the oppressed.

• The caged bird symbolizes African-Americans, who are desperately trying to get their
voices heard by the American public. Even though African-Americans have a cage in front
of them, their voices can be heard. African-Americans were treated differently in America,
though they wanted to be equal.

• Civil Rights — a political movement in the mid-1960s that campaigned for African
Americans to have equal rights and proper integration with white Americans. Slavery was
abolished a long time before (1865), but since that time African Americans had still not
been treated equally — they had to go to separate schools, ride separate buses and eat in
separate restaurants. This was called segregation, and it led white people to still consider
African Americans as separate from and inferior to themselves. Though legally the
African Americans were no longer enslaved, many argued that socially and culturally they
were still ostracised and not at all provided with the same opportunities as other people in
America. So, in the 1960s a lot of people campaigned to get this changed, led by political
leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Support for this movement occurred in
the US and around the world.

• Angelou wrote the poem in 1968, at a time when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining
power and the social oppression of African Americans was finally starting to change. Her
voice is one of many voices that collaborated at this time to encourage the emancipation
of her people.

• Maya Angelou’s autobiography is also called “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings”,
showing her strong connection to the poem — perhaps she views herself as a caged bird
too and identifies with victims of oppression.

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Maya Angelou at Elon University in 2012, Source: Wikimedia Commons

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THEMES
Nature vs Unnatural

• The bird is supposed to be free and allowed to fly, and it enjoys life when it is this way.
When the bird is caged with clipped wings, it becomes sad and can only find enjoyment
when thinking of freedom.

• Angelou is suggesting that captivity and oppression are unnatural states for living things
to exist in. The state itself leads to a change in behaviour and breaks the spirit and soul of
the captive being.

Freedom vs Captivity

• Birds are supposed to be in nature and not in cages, and in the same way men are
supposed to live freely, with equality of opportunity.

• The state of freedom is a privilege, and people should appreciate what they have when
they are not being oppressed or controlled by governments or social pressure.

Liberation

• Being set free and the need to be freed from constraints is the central idea of the poem.

Human nature and Creativity

• Humans are creative, expressive individuals and even in times of difficulty they can find
moments of hope or positivity, such as the way a bird will sing when trapped in a cage

• However, it is not in human nature to enjoy, accept, or even get used to captivity —
arguably, it is not in the nature of any animal to enjoy this. A state of freedom should be a
given right to all individuals, not a privilege for some and an impossible dream for others.

Politics

• The poem is a political allegory — though it tells the story of two birds, it is really a way of
expressing the political systems and forces that keep some people in a state of captivity
for their whole lives.

• There is a positive and motivational political message behind the poem - there is no anger
or resentment towards the “free bird”, i.e. the white people, instead there is just a desire
to be free like them.

Race

• The poem explores the way in which racial inequality can lead to oppression and lack of
opportunity within societies that do not encourage racial integration.

• The “bird” in the cage and “bird” in the sky are the same, perhaps suggesting that
Angelou feels we are all the same species and should get along as equals.

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 Photo by Zyanya BMO on Unsplash

POSSIBLE ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. How does Angelou explore the theme of freedom in this poem?
2. Explore how Angelou’s writing has a deeper political message in “Caged Bird”.

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