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Analysis Of Maya Angelou's Poem The Caged Bird

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”you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Maya Angelou, was an author, poet, dancer, and a civil rights activist, she was best known for her 1969 memoir, called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. She believed a lot in freedom and equal rights for all people. Maya uses her creative writing as an art form to express her feelings about things such as her want for freedom, and her feelings on the human spirit.

In Maya 's Poem the Caged Bird she uses the two different birds to symbolize her feelings about freedom and spirit. She uses lots of hidden meanings and symbols throughout. Such as In the first part the ‘free bird’ is a symbol of freedom she shows this as she says “A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends,”( Angelou 494) this shows a sense of jubilusness and elatation towards freedom. This is also a hint for us to discover how Maya Angelou feels about freedom as well. In the second part she goes on to describe the ‘Caged bird’ by saying “The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still, his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.” ( Angelou, 494)
This shows some references to isolation and they are praying for freedom but afraid of what might be ahead. The description of the caged bird is sorrowful compared to the free bird the comparison that she reveals throughout the poem, highlight the comfort of

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