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SS1: LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH - 1ST TERM

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  1. Definition of Literature, Functions of Literature, Genres of Literature | Week 1
    3 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  2. Introduction to Prose, Types of Prose | Week 2
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  3. Features of Prose Fiction | Week 3
    1 Topic
    |
    1 Quiz
  4. Introduction to Drama | Week 4
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  5. Elements of Drama | Week 5
    1 Topic
    |
    1 Quiz
  6. Introduction to Poetry | Week 6
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  7. Features of Poetry | Week 7
    1 Topic
    |
    1 Quiz
  8. Literary Devices | Week 8
    2 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  9. Introduction to African Poetry: "The Leader And The Led" By Niyi Osundare | Week 9
    9 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  10. Introduction to Non-African Poetry “Caged Bird” (I know Why The Caged Bird Sings) by Maya Angelou | Week 10
    8 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz

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Topic Content:

  • Poetic Devices “The Caged Bird”

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 society.

2.    Personification: 

 

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Question 1

Question 1:

Expatriate the use of symbolism in the poem “I know why the caged bird sings”

Answer:

The thematic preoccupation of the poem is racial discrimination. The words “cage” and “bars” as used by the poet in the poem symbolize segregation. The poem clearly shows the segregation that exists between the “caged bird” and the “free bird” as it is between the whites and blacks in American society.

Symbolism is a poetic device or technique used by the poet to pass vital information to readers at different stanzas of the poem. A symbol often represents something, and these symbols can be archetypal as portrayed in the poem where the “caged bird” symbolizes the African American (Blacks) while the “free bird” symbolizes the white Americans.

In the first two stanzas, the poet compares a “free bird” with a “caged bird”. The oppression and limitedness of the lives of African Americans in America are symbolized by “the caged bird”. Words such as “caged” and “bars” immediately give an indication of the imprisonment of the bird, that is, the African American. It suggests that the African American lives in a controlled environment in which he is not able to achieve his dream. What he is able to achieve is based on what the oppressive system allows. All he can do is “stalk down his narrow cage”. Here, “narrow” symbolizes the confined and restrictive nature of the life of the African American.

Again through the use of symbolism, the poem shows the importance of freedom as portrayed in the life of the free bird. The “free bird” symbolizes the whites in American society. “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream”. Because it does not experience any restriction whatsoever, it is able to fly in the “Orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky”. “A leap on the back of the wind”, “floats downstream” and “flying in the orange sun rays” symbolizes the freedom the “free bird” enjoys and the unlimitedness in the lives of whites in American society.

While the caged bird eats whatever is thrown to it in the cage, “the free bird thinks of another breeze and trade winds … and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn”. All these images symbolize the goodies of the state made available to whites because they experience complete freedom. Because of such privileges, they are able to achieve the full potential of their lives. This is why the free bird claims ownership of the sky.

Unlike the free bird, the caged bird is denied such privileges. The blacks suffer great deprivations, and because of this, they are unable to achieve the full potential of their lives “But the caged bird stands on the grave of dreams”. Like the caged bird, the African Americans in America stand on the “grave of dreams”. They are unable to achieve their dreams. Their dreams lay dead and buried because they have never been given the same opportunities as the whites.

Generally speaking, the poet uses the situations of the free and the caged bird as an analogy to describe the different experiences of blacks and whites in America.

Question 2

Question 2:

Discuss the poet’s use of contrast in the poem

Answer:

The thematic preoccupation of the poem “I know why the caged bird sings” is about racial discrimination. The poet uses the images of the free and caged birds to portray this theme. While the caged bird is kept in confinement the free bird enjoys the liberty of feeding and flight (freedom). The poet achieves the portrayal of this theme through the effective use of contrast.

Contrast is a rhetorical device used by a writer to emphasize the difference between two objects, with their differences highlighted and explained. Through the use of contrast, the poet compares the free and the caged birds. In the first stanza, readers are made to visualize with their mind’s eyes; the image of the bird flying freely in the sky amidst trees and going about its activities without any form of restriction.

On the other hand, the poet creates another image of a bird kept in confinement. Readers are made to visualize with their mind’s eye the image of a caged bird as it “stalks down his narrow cage” and “sings” through its “bars of rage”.

The effects of the contrasting of these two images are that they demonstrate the racial discrimination against African Americans (Blacks) in America and the freedom and privileges enjoyed by the whites in America.

The contrastive analogy in the poem is only made possible by the use of the coordinating conjunction “But” as is seen in “But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage”. Here the poet contrasts the free-range conditions of the free bird with the confinement of the caged bird. Again, the poet contrasts the easy achievement of the potentials of the whites in America to the unfulfilled dreams of the Blacks as depicted in “But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams”. The effect of the use of contrast as shown in the above example is that it shows the injustice and racial discrimination against Blacks in American society.

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