Poem #1: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The Poem: I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream 
Till the current ends and dips his wing 
In the orange suns 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 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 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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

   Maya Angelou's full name is Marguerite Ann Johnson. And american poet and author that was born on  April 4, 1928. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, but was raised in St. Louis and Stamps, Arkansas. Maya is an African American. She was known for her autobiographies. Maya has had a dramatic life when she was young. She was to live with her grandmother with her brother. She got raped and never want to speak. She became a mother at the age of 17. She has experienced discrimination for being an African-American. At the age of 14, she has dropped out of school, but later on finished school after giving birth to her son named Guy.

PERSONAL RESPONSE:

I have read this poem with my first English 9 teacher Ms. Kristal before Ms. Ajoste. My classmates and I read in our Literature textbook. I know most of us can relate to this poem. The caged bird is like me. I can relate because there are times I feel I don't have freedom. My parents are somehow strict and barely allows me to go out of the house. I do not go out much with my friends. I only leave the house with my family always. My mother has to know who are the people that are going to be with me to a certain place I would go. My parents can be so protective at times. I get so jealous of my other friends. They have much more freedom than me. I feel so sad when I am the only one that could not go to an event because I was not allowed to. 

This poem seems so sad. I like how Maya Angelou made this poem full of ideas or has a lot of emotions. I have read other poems of Maya Angelou like the "Phenomenal Woman". That poem is one of the popular poems. 

The people around this world would relate to this poem because back then there was slavery in the U.S. Black people were treated so differently not like compared today. They had so little rights compared to the White men also. Black people were slaves and were forced to works for white men. They worked in plantations for agriculture. Black people had no vote rights and all. 

TP-CASTT

Title: I think this poem will be about a sad bird in a caged. This poem will probably be so sad. The caged bird is jealous of the free bird. Maybe Maya had little freedom, while she was growing up.

Paraphrase:
The free bird jumps on its back
With the wind and moves downstream
When the movements ends and dips its wing
The orange rays of the sun
And goes for the sky
But a bird approaches straight down to the cage
Can rarely see through bars of the cage
His wings are fastened and the feet are tied
He opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings with a quavering sound
Things unfamiliar but still desired
The melody is heard from a far hill
The bird has the power to sing
The bird thinks of a gentle wind
The soft wind blowing steadily moving
Sounds of trees
Fat worms on the soil ground
He addresses the sky his own
But the caged bird stands on a place of dreams
The dark shadow is a like a nightmareHis wings are fastened and the feet are tiedHe opens his throat to singThe caged bird sings with a quavering sound 
Things unfamiliar but still desired
The melody is heard from a far hill
For the bird has the right to speak 

Connotation:

1. Structure: line, couplet, strophe, and quatrain & quintets stanzas , Rhyme Scheme- AAAB, Meter- iambic , Punctuation- periods
2. Speaker- the author, a colored person, anyone
3. Figurative language- Personification- caged bird sings with a fearful trill, free bird thinks of another breeze, and he names the sky his own , metaphor- caged bird stand on grave
4. Imagery- Sight (orange sun rays, narrow cage, dawn-bright lawn, fat), touch (clipped, tied, soft), hear (sing, fearful trill, nightmare scream, tune)

Attitude: The tone of the poem is discouraged, sympathy, hurt, and depressed.

Shifts:
First stanza (7 lines) talks about the freedom and happiness of the free bird.
Second stanza (7 lines) is the perspective of the caged bird.
Stanzas three, four and five describes the situation of the caged bird.
And the last stanza (8 lines) talks about the freedom of the caged bird.

Title: After reading the poem, my perspective of this poem change a little. I was right about the bird being in a cage and being sad. The caged bird wasn't being heard and lacked freedom.

Theme:
-Maya Angelou had a hard harsh time growing up and surviving this world.
-Racism and Sexist (Segregation) 
-Freedom

REFERENCES (APA-6):
Maya, A. (1969). I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Famous Poets and Poems. Wesbsite. Retrieved from http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/maya_angelou/poems/494