Interpretation of the Poem "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou

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Interpretation Research Paper of "Caged Bird" By Maya Angelou
Introduction
The Caged Bird is an extended metaphor for two birds, the caged bird, and the free bird. The poem expounds on the oppression experienced by African Americans as slaves in the past. The caged bird symbolizes the plight of Black Americans. It describes the contrasting experiences between the two birds. One bird can live in nature the way it wants to, while another caged bird suffers in confinement. Due to its immense suffering, the caged bird resorts to singing to express its own longing for freedom and cope with its circumstances. Using the metaphorical expression of the two birds, Angelou portrays a critical picture of oppression. She sheds light on the entitlement and privilege of the un-oppressed and expresses the concurrent experience of emotional resilience and suffering. Remarkably, the poem's metaphorical extension can be perceived as portraying the experience of being an African American.
Summary
A bird that is free flies on the wind, floating downstream till the wind current changes. It then dips its wings in the orange sunlight and dares to pronounce the sky its own. However, another bird moves silently and angrily in a small-sized cage and can hardly see through its anger or cage bars. Its wings are clipped such that it cannot sail, and its feet are tied up. It, therefore, opens its throat to sing fearfully of things it does not know but still longs for. Its song can be heard from as far as distant hills since the caged bird sings about independence.
On the other hand, the free bird contemplates another breeze and about the universal winds that blow westwards and give the trees a sighing sound. He also thinks of the fat worms he eats on the lawn in the dawn, and he claims the sky as his. However, the caged bird has nothing but the grave of his dreams long gone. (Misia,2019).
Critical analysis
"Caged Bird," a poem by Maya Angelou, has freedom as its central theme. The first stanza starts with a positive tone, a feeling of excitement and exhilaration of ownership of the free bird while he rides the streams of wind, rejoicing in his freedom. The image of the free bird dipping his wings into the "orange sun rays speaks of victory, joy, pride, and a sense of daring as he claims the sky. This bird can choose where to go and when. He rides the wind's back; delights, dipping his wing in the warm sunlight of orange hue; and claims the sky as his. His lifetime is portrayed as carefree, joyous, and loaded with possibilities. (Gale, 2015).
Stanza two, however, contrasts with the first. Unlike the free bird in the first stanza, the caged bird has limited space in which to move about. The caged bird lives behind the cage's actual physical bars and the metaphorical "bars of rage." In this case, it is not just the metal bars of the cage that trap and limit him, but also the emotion of anger. His emotion of rage is so strong and overpowering that he is blinded by it. Since it has clipped wings and tied feet, the freedom he has is to sing. Nothing, not even the bars of his cage, can prevent him from singing. Here, it is imperative to note that music or singing is not always an expression of triumph or joy. It is also an expression of pain, anguish, and suffering.
The bird that's caged "stalks" his "narrow" prison, unable to get over his abject fury at being contained. He is constantly reminded of his confined and tyrannical life. The cage's narrowness indicates how restrictive its boundaries are compared to the open sky of the free bird. Additionally, he is not only limited by the cage. His own body has been maimed and bound to keep him captive since he has clipped wings and tied feet. The captivity of the caged bird inhibits him from flying freely according to his nature's demands. The only thing he can do is to sing and voice out his anger and pain.
Stanza three supports the second stanza since it continues to describe the confined bird, its emotions, song, and anticipation for "things unknown but longed for." The longing itself is paradoxical because how can one long for something "unknown"? The bird that's caged sings about "freedom," something it has not once experienced before. It is apparent that the bird has been caged for his whole life. Although true independence remains "unknown," this doesn't hinder the imprisoned bird from instinctively longing for it. He has knowledge of a better life that's outside his cage, and his freedom cry travels far and wide. His song and desire for freedom are irrepressible, despite being physically entrapped. Here, Angelou refers to how someone captive his entire life would long for freedom. The song of the confined bird reaching sufficiently far to the distant hill is metaphorical of how calls for justice are continually heard but not constantly reciprocated.
Stanza four, however, presents a contrast to the second and third stanzas. The tone of the second stanza is that of hope and expectancy. The unrestricted bird con...