I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill for the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Lately in class, we have been employing
gender lens to analyze The Age
of Innocence and
a “Doll House”. Therefore, I thought it would be interesting to
analyze Maya Angelou's “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. The
poem focuses on a caged bird that sings for freedom. The caged bird
can be viewed as a representation of social issues such as racial
inequality, gender inequality, and the pursuit of individuality.
Since we have focused on gender roles, I will be reading this poem
through the gender roles. I view the “bird that stalks/down his
narrow cage” as a woman trapped in marriage (Line 8-9). The woman
is trapped in a cage that symbolizes marriage so she “opens [her]
throat to sing” for freedom (line 14). Nora from the “Doll House”
closely relates to this bird as well. She often tells lies to somehow
escape her role as a doll in her husband's doll house, her captor.
Also, the bird's “wings are clipped and/[its] feet are tied”
which resembles Nora's situation in her marriage (Line 12-13). Nora's
opinion and identity represent the bird's wings and feet. Nora is
unable to think for herself preventing her from individuality and
independence. Hence, her opinions are “clipped and/[her] identity
[is] tied” by her role as a submissive wife (Line 12-13). Another
female character relates to the caged bird as well. Ellen Olenska of
The Age of
Innocence serves
as an epitome of a caged bird and captor to society. She is
essentially a woman trapped in this expectation that she will become
a mistress to a married man(Beaufort especially) or return to her
unfaithful husband. Therefore, she “opens [her] throat to sing”
like the bird by falling in love with Newland Archer (Line 14).
Newland Archer represents to Ellen as a door to “freedom” because
he understands her like nobody else (Line 23). He has the ability to
convince Ellen “to claim the sky” by allowing her to become a
“free bird” (Line 1 and 7). Unfortunately, Archer fails to do so
which leads to “the caged bird/ [to] sing of freedom” on the
distant hill (Line 38-40). However, the caged bird can also be
interpreted as a man imprisoned by gender roles. For example, Newland
Archer is a “bird that stalks down his narrow cage” to express
his horror on the “sameness-sameness” of life (Wharton 71). The
“narrow cage” that he inhabits is his marriage to May Welland, a
woman who conforms to society (Line 9). Archer feels suffocated in
his dull life that is a repeating cycle of life. Also, he is
horrified by the fact that his own wife must conceal her inner
desires and passion to blend in with the Old New York society. It
can be inferred that the caged bird can be anyone regardless of
gender. Also, our society is filled with several 'caged birds” who
sing for freedom (Line 38). For instance, adolescents often express
their need for freedom and independence by rebelling. (I know this
for a fact.)
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