“It takes desperation, dissatisfaction and disillusion to write a good poem”

Write about how much this statement reflects your understanding of poetry.
Poetry that is well written divulges themes of desperation, dissatisfaction and disillusion.
Poets speak to human vulnerabilities and frailties as they write a piece of literature that
reflects their personal life. Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird” speaks to her frustration and
helplessness towards the relationship between White Americans and African Americans
during the Civil Rights Movements. On the other hand, Luka Lesson’s “Please Resist Me”
shows his initial disillusion towards racism and how his undying determination secured him
into a positive mentality. Both poets address the contemporary issues of racism and
discrimination, resilience and resistance, whilst also yearning for freedom.
Discrimination and oppression, are central themes in “Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me”
are used to evoke empathy for oppressed people. “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelous illustrates
a caged bird’s perspective on life as he is facing the effects of discrimination, “His wings are
clipped and/his feet are tied”. The distinctive visual imagery captured in the phrase
emphasizes the caged bird’s lack of freedom and its constriction has its body is “clipped” and
“tied”, which further shows the connotation of jail and inequality. This mirrors the same
feelings of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement as they were being used by
White Americans to gain more profit through slavery. Juxtaposition poignantly captures the
human dilemma of oppression and freedom as the caged bird is restricted whilst the free bird
can do whatever it pleases. This remains as a consistent extended metaphor throughout the
entire poem, illustrating the unjust oppression of African Americans’ at the hands of white
Americans. In contrast to this tone of helplessness, accepting the circumstances she finds
herself in, Lesson’s aggressive direct tone challenges society with its explicit focus on
discrimination and oppression. Alliteration acts as a powerful challenge in “Colonise me,
compromise me, conflict me” to express Lesson’s struggles. The action verbs, “Colonise”,
“compromise” and “conflict” have negative connotations that emphasize the effects of
oppression against immigrants. The consistent repetition of “me”, a first person pronoun
highlights the impact of discrimination and oppression on the individual. His intimate tone
with the reader enables him to speak from a personal perspective. Lesson’s purposeful lack of
figurative language removes reader ambiguity as readers are given a direct and soulful insight
into the rampant discrimination that has impacted his life. In summary, the powerful
representations by Angelou and Lesson speak to their individual experiences with
discrimination and oppression. The negative impact of society on the individual is
emphatically captured through the use of techniques such as visual imagery, juxtaposition and
alliteration. Their different, compelling representations of their experiences with
discrimination and oppression is expressed as “Caged Bird” is a representation of feeling
helpless in the hands of discrimination for African Americans whilst “Please Resist Me”
gives a more invigorating outlook on Lesson’s personal experiences.
“Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me” explore the theme of resilience and resistance
throughout the poems and assists in conveying an inspiring message to readers. Angelou
presents this idea clearly in her poem, “The caged bird sings/ with fearful trill/ of the things
unknown/ but longed for still”. The motif of the caged bird singing remains as an act of
resilience, illustrating that no matter what is happening to caged bird physically it will always
open its throat to sing. The word, “unknown”, acts a symbol for freedom, by stating that
freedom is unknown, Angelou emphasizes the caged birds constriction. This phrase expresses
naivety because even though the caged bird is “fearful” of what is beyond its cage, it will
continue to resist the negativity and long for it freedom. Resistance and resilience is
expressed in “Please Resist Me”, “Until like a diamond/ when I come out/I’ll be better than
when I arrived in”. The use of simile to compare himself to a diamond, Lesson emphasizes
his strength and resilience, he also signifies towards the intense pressure that is needed to
create diamonds, relating that to himself. Lesson also speaks to personal growth by stating
that he will be “better than when I (he) arrived in” this phrase assists in expressing the
importance of resilience to listeners. Resistance is a key extended metaphor in Lesson’s poem
as he speaks to an innovative mentality and uses his poem as a call to action, to allow
everyone to be resistant and confident. In summary, resistance and resilience is expressed
consistently throughout “Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me” through use of techniques such
as symbolism, motif, simile and extended metaphor. Angelou serves a hopeful yet dissatisfied
idea of resilience whilst Lesson expresses an inspiring call to action and encourages
resistance and resilience in his writing.

Angelou’s “Caged Bird” and Lesson’s “Please Resist Me” collectively present the feeling of
yearning for freedom and shows a sense of hope at the hands of a challenging situation. The
poets present this idea in both similar and contrasting forms. Lesson expresses his outlook on
the rise to freedom and success, “Resistance brings evolution/and you’ve resisted me
consistently I thank you for your contribution”. The juxtaposition that is evident between
“resistance” and “evolution” illustrates the power that his oppressors are giving to Lesson
through their consistent resistance, while they are presenting an undying lack of compassion,
he is working hard to bring an evolution. The paradox in the next phrase reinforces Lesson’s
statement. The poem has a hopeful view on the effects of discrimination as Lesson focuses
on a negative action and molds into an opportunity for change. On the other hand, Angelou’s
execution of freedom sets a more negative tone when she speaks to, “his tune is heard/on the
distant hill for caged bird/sings of freedom”. The “distant hill” stands as a metaphor for white
privilege as it is paramount in comparison to the African Americans’ “cage.” The adjective
“distant” contributes to the caged bird’s feeling of yearning as freedom is visible but just out
of its reach. The bird singing of freedom is a prime example of auditory imagery as the reader
can sympathize with bird’s powerless attempt for freedom mirroring the feelings of the
African Americans in the Civil Rights movement. Overall, Angelou and Lesson express their
personal ideas of freedom through the use of techniques such as metaphors, juxtaposition,
paradox and auditory imagery, the similar beliefs on the power of freedom are powerful in
contrast to the action that their poems take to grasp onto freedom, “Cage Bird” has a deeply
glorified take on freedom with the constant romanticizing and comparing between the caged
and free birds whilst “Please Reist Me” serves a more inspiring take on protecting on your
freedom and fighting for yourself even if you are at your lowest.

“Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me” express the desperation, dissatisfaction and disillusion
it takes to create a powerful piece of literature. The poets, Angelou and Lesson, both use
poetic techniques such as, metaphors, motifs, imagery, to effectively to implement their
message to the reader. Whilst both the poems primarily focus on discrimination and
oppression, resilience and resistance, as well as the yearning for freedom, the poets speak to
their perspective on that in different ways. “Caged Bird” communicates the civil rights
movement in America and speaks from an African Americans’ feelings of helplessness and
constriction whilst “Please Resist Me” uncovers the struggles of immigrant in the present day
and discloses the feeling of being an outsider and rebelling against it. In conclusion, the
desperation, dissatisfaction and disillusion to create a good poem can be established in
countless forms and ideas and how they eventually speak to an audience.

Draft
Discrimination and oppression, are central themes in “Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me”
are used to evoke empathy for oppressed people. Angelou’s “Caged Bird” highlights the
effect of discrimination in , “His wings are clipped and/his feet are tied/so he opens his throat
to sing”. The distinctive visual imagery of “wings …clipped…feet…tied” powerfully
captures the bird’s lack of freedom, its constriction encapsulated in “clipped” and “tied”;
connotations of jail and inequality. This perspective mirrors oppression and discrimination of
African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement when White Americans profited from
slavery. This juxtaposition, a continued extended metaphor between the caged bird and
freedom provides a powerful insight into the human experience illustrating the unjust
oppression of African Americans’ at the hands of white Americans. In contrast to this tone of
helplessness, Lesson’s aggressive direct tone challenges society with its explicit attention on
discrimination and oppression. Alliteration acts as a powerful challenge capturing his struggle
in “Colonise me, compromise me, conflict me”. The negative connotation of the action verbs,
“Colonise”, “compromise” and “conflict” emphasise the effects of oppression against
immigrants. The consistent repetition of “me”, a first person pronoun highlights the impact of
discrimination and oppression on the individual. His intimate tone with the reader enables
him to speak from a personal perspective. Lesson’s purposeful lack of figurative language
removes reader ambiguity as readers are given a direct and soulful insight into the rampant
discrimination that has impacted his life. In summary, the powerful representations by
Angelou and Lesson speak to their individual experiences with discrimination and
oppression. The negative impact of society on the individual is emphatically captured through
the use of techniques such as visual imagery, juxtaposition and alliteration. Their different,
compelling representations of their experiences with discrimination and oppression is
expressed as “Caged Bird” is a representation of feeling helpless in the hands of
discrimination for African Americans whilst “Please Resist Me” gives a more invigorating
outlook on Lesson’s personal experiences.

“Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me” explore the themes of resilience and resistance and
how people can rise from oppression. Angelou’s use of motif of the “caged bird sings” is a
powerful metaphor of how people find their voice even when oppressed as the bird sings to
“things unknown” because freedom is unknown to people that have long been oppressed. The
noun group “caged bird” emphasises the bird’s restricted environment but also speaks to the
barriers that burden minority groups. The bird’s “fearful trill” shows apprehension, afraid of
further subjugation. The bird is hopeful because although it is “fearful” of what is beyond its
cage, it longs for “freedom”. Its singing is an act of resistance giving voice to its
mistreatment. Likewise, resistance and resilience are central to “Please Resist Me”. Lesson
uses the simile in, “Until like a diamond/ when I come out/I’ll be better than when I arrived
in” to speak to how intense societal pressure can lead a person to change for the better. His
focus on a “diamond” is analogous to the human experience where negative events can lead
to personal growth; a point emphasised in, “better than when I (he) arrived in”. Lesson shows
how discrimination and racism can lead to individuals resisting oppression and through this
process coming out a stronger and better person. In summary, the themes of resistance and
resilience in “Caged Bird” and “Please Resist Me” are developed through the use of
techniques such as symbolism, motif, simile and extended metaphor. Angelou serves a
hopeful yet dissatisfied idea of resilience whilst Lesson expresses an inspiring call to action
and encourages resistance and resilience in his writing.