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    The Romantics used birds as a symbol of freedom and poetry itself. Maya Angelou deviates from the norm by expressing the bird's sorrow and rage. Caged bird symbolises Black Americans' plight. Its song references 19th-century slaves singing in Congo Square to remember their heritage. The caged bird'sRead more

    The Romantics used birds as a symbol of freedom and poetry itself. Maya Angelou deviates from the norm by expressing the bird’s sorrow and rage.

    Caged bird symbolises Black Americans’ plight. Its song references 19th-century slaves singing in Congo Square to remember their heritage. The caged bird’s rage-filled bars represent its blind rage at being caged.

    The free bird highlights everything the caged bird lacks. Free birds can do what people think birds like. Free birds can do as they please, while caged birds can only hope for freedom.

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  1. Lucifer
    Best Answer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The setting of the poem is contrasting. The free bird is shown as something which can roam freely in nature. The bright sky and golden sun and rivers are described as his roaming zones. On the other hand, a caged bird’s setting is in desolation and wilderness. The only reference to a greater settingRead more

    The setting of the poem is contrasting. The free bird is shown as something which can roam freely in nature. The bright sky and golden sun and rivers are described as his roaming zones. On the other hand, a caged bird’s setting is in desolation and wilderness. The only reference to a greater setting is distant hills where his songs are heard otherwise it is always the prison around him.

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  1. Lucifer
    Best Answer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The conclusion of the poem is that the caged bird will sing song nevertheless. The songs will be full of fear and tremble but there will be songs. The tune of his songs will be heard in distant hills and one day it will be liberated.

    The conclusion of the poem is that the caged bird will sing song nevertheless. The songs will be full of fear and tremble but there will be songs. The tune of his songs will be heard in distant hills and one day it will be liberated.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The caged bird can not see ahead of its cage. The longing to know things which he can not see due to imprisonment makes him sing songs of things unknown.

    The caged bird can not see ahead of its cage. The longing to know things which he can not see due to imprisonment makes him sing songs of things unknown.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    A caged bird is always full of rage and despair because his feet are tied and his wings are clipped.

    A caged bird is always full of rage and despair because his feet are tied and his wings are clipped.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    A caged bird is a soldier because it fights against the limits set upon it by others. That constant fight and the act of singing songs of freedom makes the bird a soldier.

    A caged bird is a soldier because it fights against the limits set upon it by others. That constant fight and the act of singing songs of freedom makes the bird a soldier.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The tone of the poem is very tragic. It is sad, its diction is all about chained reality and the pain which a caged life cause. So, the tone to the end remains tragic yet triumphant.

    The tone of the poem is very tragic. It is sad, its diction is all about chained reality and the pain which a caged life cause. So, the tone to the end remains tragic yet triumphant.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    The message of the poem is that the world of a caged bird and a free bird is very different. The lack of freedom changes the way one sees everything so the message is to remove all constraints so that one can cherish life as it is and the beauty of this world in complete freedom.

    The message of the poem is that the world of a caged bird and a free bird is very different. The lack of freedom changes the way one sees everything so the message is to remove all constraints so that one can cherish life as it is and the beauty of this world in complete freedom.

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  1. Lucifer
    Best Answer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Racism- It is the major thematic concern of the poem. The poet describes how due to racial discrimination in America, the black people are suffering intensely. Their subjugation and lack of freedom has taken away from them all kinds of joy and the only think they can now do is to sing of their miserRead more

    Racism- It is the major thematic concern of the poem. The poet describes how due to racial discrimination in America, the black people are suffering intensely. Their subjugation and lack of freedom has taken away from them all kinds of joy and the only think they can now do is to sing of their misery to the outer world.

    Freedom- Two image of Free bird and Caged bird is to describe the effect of freedom and its absence. When a bird is free, it can perform whatever it wants to in life. It can show its creativity and eat and grow and travel freely but a caged bird can only stand upon the grave of its own dreams and open its throat to sing of oppression.

    Enslavement- America is the worst-case scenario of human beings enslaving fellow human beings just because they are of different race. The poem shows through the image of caged bird how enslavement affects its subjects and how cruel and inhuman it is. For a long time, American saw the slave trade. The poem metaphorically deals with the issue.

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  1. Lucifer
    Lucifer better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven

    Following poetic devices are used in this poem- Metaphors- It is the use of words for meanings different than their literal ones. The poem uses two metaphor a) Caged bird, to describe the Black Americans or African Americans who are exploited and chained b) Free bird, it stands for White Americans wRead more

    Following poetic devices are used in this poem-

    Metaphors- It is the use of words for meanings different than their literal ones. The poem uses two metaphor a) Caged bird, to describe the Black Americans or African Americans who are exploited and chained b) Free bird, it stands for White Americans who enjoy privilege of freedom and also to oppress others with impunity.

    Personification- It is to personify nonhuman things as humans. Here bird is personified both as free bird and caged bird. It also personifies Trees as something which feels sorrow like human being and describe them as “sighing trees.”

    Alliteration – It is the repetition of a sound. For example, in the poem, it says, “shadows shouts” or “worms waiting in the lawn.”

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