Understanding Symbolism and Imagery in Maya Angelou's Poem Analysis

This essay delves into Maya Angelou's poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," exploring its vivid imagery and symbolism to portray the hardships faced by African-Americans. The poem contrasts the freedom of a bird soaring in the sky with the entrapment of a caged bird, symbolizing racial distinction and oppression. The free bird represents those who enjoy independence, while the caged bird embodies the suppressed, dark-skinned community. The poem highlights the autocratic nature of the 'fair-skinned' community, which dominates and restricts the freedom of the 'colored' community, leaving them with creativity as their only means of expression. The analysis emphasizes the poem's themes of racism, freedom, and the struggle against oppression.

Running Head: MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM
MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM
Maya Angelou’s “I know why the caged bird sings” came out in 1983. The poet portrays
the hardships and adversities faced by the fellow African-Americans, quite vividly. The poem
has several imagery and symbols, which the poet uses to express her thoughts and imply several
situations. The poem starts with the imagery of a bird which is completely devoid of any type of
boundaries, sets the mood for the poem. The imagery of a bird soaring high up in the sky and
taking a dip into the sunshine, claiming the sky to be its own, also adds to the poem. Anyway the
captured bird is entrapped within the shackles of dominance and anger, completely taking away
its freedom and restricting its abilities. It has no means of individualistic expression except
singing in a melancholic tone breaking all boundaries, barriers flowing freely through and across
nature. But the bird flies with its wings of creativity, where the air is different, to its natural
habitat. The bird thus finds respite and finds itself among nature being free, spreading its wings
of creativity-wide.
The theme of racial distinction is quite clear all throughout the poem. The theme of
racism has always been a very sensitive topic among the African-Americans. And the image of a
bird singing while it is entrapped, clearly points out the image of racism which is a much more
relatable topic in the present world. The suppression of the fair-skinned and the dark –skinned
has always been there and the bird which is free symbolizes the fair-skinned people whereas the
dark-skinned suppressed class is demarcated by the symbol of the entrapped bird. The poem
revolves around the symbol of racial distinction. The poet narrates the hardships and challenges
that the entrapped bird faces and goes through and also stresses upon the freedom of the free bird
who flies high up in the sky and exercises its independence, which alludes a lot the fair skinned
people. Thus the poet compares the conditions and contrasts between the two.

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MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM
The freedom of the bird is referred to be the one who enjoys the celebration of freedom
and independence. Which in case of the bird when it glides through the sunshine, delivers the
idea that glory comes to those who are free. The emphasis is given on the term “fat” worms,
which symbolizes that those who are already saturated with enough facilities and they only keep
getting the facilities over and over again, which is very ironical. The free bird is not only
entrapped in the shackles but also that its limbs are shed and tied, signifying the helpless
condition that the fair skinned people push the colored people. The people belonging to the
colored community which is being set by the ‘fair skinned’ is totally autocratic in nature. By
which they dominate them. This in turn highlights the fact the white skinned community set up a
structure out of the color of the skin of individuals and tries to doming ate those who are not like
them, violating their free will and acting against their consent. And the dominated community
has the only option to live and exclude their hardships by exercising their creative mind.

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MAYA ANGELOU’S POEM