Introduction
The poem Caged Bird written by Maya Angelou follows the same theme as Paul Laurence Dunbar’s Sympathy. Thus, both poems focus on the theme of freedom through the perspective of a caged bird. However, despite using similar imagery of the bird in the cage, the poems can leave a different impression on the reader because the authors chose different approaches to discuss the theme. The authors’ choice of different messages and approaches in the poems resulted in a combination of varying literary devices and tones.
The Caged Bird Poem by Maya Angelou
Firstly, the Cadged Bird approaches the theme of freedom as something unknown yet desired. The author emphasizes that the caged bird knows no other way of life except for life in a cage, even “his wings are clipped and his feet are tied” (Angelou, 1983, p. 22). Despite the limitations, the bird sings about freedom to express his rage and agony. Thus, Angelou’s poem has a sad and exposing feeling with the sounds of beautiful signing unable to cover the cruelty and violence against the living creature destined for a free life. Lastly, in order to emphasize the injustice committed against the bird, the poem utilizes the literary device of anaphora several times throughout the poem.
On the contrary, Sympathy intentionally points at how the caged bird’s feelings reflect the sufferings from racism and segregation. The poem gradually changes its tone from more optimistic with bright and inspiring images of thriving nature in the poem’s beginning to sad. The sadness is primarily sourced from the image of a caged bird beating its wings against the bars until “his wing is bruised and his bosom sore” (Dunbar, 2019, p.103). Compared to Angelou’s poem, Sympathy evokes more terrifying feelings in the viewer because it directly connects the bird’s struggles with the narrator’s pain that “still throbs in the old, old, scars” (Dunbar, 2019, p.102). Thus, in Sympathy, the bird is a metaphor for the violent treatment African American community received during slavery.
Conclusion
In conclusion, comparing the two poems with similar themes and images defined several differences. The Caged Bird poem appeals more to the reader’s sense of justice with its sad yet exposing tone and multiple uses of anaphora for additional emphasis. In contrast, the Sympathy poem utilizes a gradual shift in the tone, which goes better with the metaphor of the caged bird’s pain being compared to the sufferings of the African American community.
References
Angelou, M. (1983). Shaker, why don’t you sing? Random House.
Dunbar, P. L. (2019). The complete poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Seltzer Books.