The Symbolism Of Birds In Maya Angelou's Poems

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Life can be an exciting adventure. At times, we can feel trapped in our own thoughts and problems. At other times, we can feel like we are on top of the world. We observed two different poems within the same meaning; they symbolize this by using birds. In the poems, “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, they focused on caged birds and free birds to symbolize different depths of emotion.
In the poems, the poets used a cage bird to symbolize the agony and pain of confinement. “His wings are clipped/ his feet are tied” (Angelou, 11-12). In “Caged Bird”, the caged bird is not only trapped, but also feels real physical pain. The caged bird is a survivor. Although, the fragile bird will continue to be scarred from a standard life. It can no longer fly anymore, projecting a feeling of an endless state of misery. “And a pain still throbs in the old scars/ and they pulse with a keener sting/ I know why the caged bird beats its wings!” (Dunbar, 12-14). In “Sympathy”, the …show more content…

“And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn/ and he names the sky his own” (Angelou, 24-25). A free bird can fly, have many opportunities, and be faithful in itself and the life ahead. The fat worms portray an easygoing life; not worrying about problems that can occur. A free bird is faced with pleasure and good opportunities. “When the sun is bright on the upland slope/ when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass/ and the river flows like a stream of glass/ when the first bird sings and the first bud opes” (Dunbar, 3-5). Dunbar depicts the calm peaceful life the cage bird envisions. The reader can almost feel the soft breeze and the warmth of the sun that the free bird will feel. The free bird feels buoyant. The fresh Spring and the liberation of a free bird is what the caged bird yearns for. “Sympathy” and “Caged Bird” both used the birds to symbolize suffrage and

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