Poetic Devices | The Caged Bird

Topic Content:

1.    Metaphor:

The poet uses metaphor extensively throughout the poem.

For example, “caged bird” is used as a metaphor for the lives of black people in America. It shows a lack of freedom and equal opportunities for them.

“Free bird” metaphorically reflects the lives of white people in America. It shows the privileged lives of whites in American societyThe term society is derived from the Latin word 'socius' meaning friendship or companionship. Society is a community, nation or group of people who share the same traditions, institutions, rules and... More.

2.    Personification: 

“And the trade winds soft through the sighing trees”.

The trees are given human attributes of “sighing”.

The effect of the personification in the above example is that it shows a free bird or the privileges of whites freely moving everywhere in American society.

3.    Repetition:

The poet uses repetition to emphasize the beauty of freedom. The fact that the third stanza is repeated in the sixth stanza is for emphasis because it reflects the two birds that are different.