Caged bird by maya angelou free#

Symbolism is a figurative device used when an object is used to represent an idea. This is a predominant feature in this poem. In the poem, stanza three is repeated in stanza six, showing emphasis on the predicament of the ‘caged bird’ and freedom as the essence of life. This involves the repetition of an idea, word, line or stanza within a poem for the aim of emphasis. “He…his own” (line 28) h alliterates Read Also: Myopia by Syl Cheney Coker Repetition: “Soft through sighing trees” (line 24) s alliterates This device refers to the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. In the above line, shadows are said to shout, which is a human attribute. “…his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” (line 28) In the above line, the tree is given the attribute of sighing, when in the real sense, trees cant sign. In lines 24 and 28, one can see the use of personification. This figure of speech gives human attributes to inanimate objects. The ‘caged bird’ indirectly refers to the African American community and the ‘free bird’ to the white American society. The poet uses an extended form of metaphor to describe two types of people in the society, one the ‘free’ and the other ‘caged’. The use of metaphor is seen in the use of the words’ caged bird’ and ‘free bird’. Metaphor is used for indirect comparison. Some of the Figurative devices used in the ‘Caged Bird’ by Maya Angelou are metaphor, personification, alliteration, repetition, symbolism, and irony. Caged Bird Figurative Devices by Maya Angelou Figurative devices help add beauty to poetry, create better mental images, and aid emphasises.

Caged bird by maya angelou free#

In her juxtaposition of “the free bird” and “the caged bird”, Maya draws a distinction between what should be and what are for African-Americans Americans in a nation they consider their own.īefore we consider the caged bird figurative devices used in the poem, we need to look at the meaning of figurative devices.įigurative devices refer to figures of speech that convey meanings beyond the literal sense. In “the free bird”, she describes what freedom is and, in “the caged bird”, the terrible realities being a segregating society in which one isn’t accepted. Maya Angelou’s poem deals with the harsh reality of African Americans.