Compare And Contrast Angelou And Paul Laurence Dunbar

In two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou talk about a poor bird that is trapped in a cage and wants to be free. It longs for everything that the free bird has but it cannot achieve it. In both of the poems, there is a use of comparisons between freedom and nature. It is also interpreted from the poems that the use of a song is a form of coping for the birds. Both of the birds sing for their freedom and sing through their pain. The two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou are so similar, yet so different.

If we look at the time period Dunbar grew up in, there are parallels to be drawn in terms of the poem and his life. The idea of a caged bird, something meant to fly and be free but held captive is similar to what it would have most definitely felt like to grow up during this time as an African American. In fact, Dunbar himself can be viewed as this caged bird, which explains why he knows the things the bird experiences all too well. It would have been extremely hard, even for someone as talented and intelligent as Dunbar to rise up within a community during this time period if they were African American.

Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou were African Americans alive during the period in American history when minority groups were fighting hard for their rights and respect among the country. These two authors used their writing skill to shed light on how African Americans felt throughout this period of time, opening many people’s eyes to how the oppressed truly felt. The civil rights movement could have had an entirely different outcome if it weren’t outspoken individuals such as these two.

Caged Bird both share a very common theme; segregation, slavery, and imprisonment. According to the poem Sympathy, “Till its blood is red on the cruel bar… I know why he beats his wings.” And from the poem Caged Bird, “…His bars of rage…so he opens his throat to sing.” These quotes show that both birds are treated like slaves. The bird from Sympathy was shipped until the back is full of blood and the bird from Caged Bird was held in a dungeon where it will die.

In the auto-biographical excerpt from Ornithological Biographies by John James Audubon, he depicts his intriguing encounter with the wild pigeons of Ohio, while in Annie Dillard's engaging excerpt from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she illustrates her thought-provoking observation of the Starling roost migration. Both writers had an overriding passion that showed through in the diction, tone, and syntax of their pieces. Because of these different infatuations both authors use different literary devices that match their feelings of how they view the birds and how the birds affected them. The authors were very different in their tonality of the excerpts, as in how Audubon was a scientist studying the life of birds, but Dillard had a passion for the arts. Therefore both writers had a very different style of writing.

Joanne Gabbin notices this, stating, “Likewise, in ‘Sympathy’ Dunbar grasps the universal cry for freedom, the inevitable theme of African American literature since black poets tried to sing in a strange land. The speaker in the poem metaphorically becomes the caged bird beating its wings against bars that do not give way” (Gabbin 228). Dunbar may also have been addressing the issue of African-American literature being used for minstrel tales and dialectic stories. Dunbar, along with other African-American poets at the time, felt trapped in the style and prose he was expected to write in, which brought focus to another aspect responsible for the style of literature known as African-American literature

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Tom ran for it even though he knew there were high risks of him being killed, which shows how the caged bird in the poem “Caged Bird” is much like him. In the poem “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, the caged bird is compared and contrasted to a free bird and by examining the circumstances of Tom Robinson’s life, I say that he is very much like the caged bird. For instance, in stanza two it’s stated “His wings are clipped and/ His feet are tied/ So he opens his throat to sing.”

Symbolism plays a crucial role in relating both works of literature to the main theme of freedom. Robinson Jeffers uses symbolism all throughout his poem. One of the major symbols being the hawk in of itself. Birds, in general, are related to a sense of freedom, the sky is the limit. Birds have the ability to fly, and flying in itself represents freedom.

Hunter and the caged bird have an external figure that holds them from accomplishing their goals as well as keeping them from their freedom. However, the audience can also envision Ms. Hunter relating to a free bird because of the fact that she steps out of her comfort zones which only true free birds are able to accomplish. This allows the reader to develop a valuable lesson that allows them to realise that one should always aim for their highest and if one is to fail, you can hit a bigger, more impactful objective! Both Ms. Hunter and the caged bird are put into a position where their true intent, their progress, and their sake of advancement is tested based upon their ability to go above and beyond: to reach for the stars. “I know what the caged bird feels.../ when the sun is bright on the upland slopes; /… and the river flows like a stream of glass; / when the first bird sings and the first bus opes, /…

Compare and Contrast Angelou and Hughes Throughout the trial-and-error events that have happened in America, there are good and bad results in the end. During the 20th century, a big positive result was the art that had developed during this time. From paintings to poems, and sculpture to music, everything was inspiring to many individuals. There were many pieces of art that were so inspirational and thought-provoking that they are still around in the 21st century.

Inner beauty has more definition, she explains that women should appreciate their flaws. After all there is only one of you and everyone was created differently. “A Caged Bird” was a poem that represented the early stages of Angelou’s life. There are several themes like race, change and freedom, which explains the survival of the fittest. The imagery used in the poems allows a vision of what the bird was like before being in a cage.

In the poems “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou, both portray captive birds that sing. However in “Sympathy”, the bird pleads with god for freedom, whereas in “Caged Bird” the captive bird calls for help from a free bird. In “Sympathy” the bird knows what freedom feels like since there was a time where the bird was once free, but now is trapped. In the first stanza the use of imagery revealed how freedom felt before the bird was caged.

A Bird’s Eye View Emily Dickinson opens up her poem with the famous line, “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words,’’. Paul Laurence Dunbar ends his poem with the line “I know why the caged bird sings!”. These two lines from the poets form the theme of the two poems. The poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson, and “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar both present a theme that suffering makes you appreciate hope much more. It seems that hope and pain are almost a dynamic duo.

“Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou in 1968 announces to the world her frustration of racial inequality and the longing for freedom. She seeks to create sentiment in the reader toward the caged bird plight, and draw compassion for the imprisoned creature. (Davis) Angelou was born as “Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St Louis, Missouri”. “Caged Bird” was first published in the collection Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing? 1983.

Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Johnson, lived through an unstable early life. She was born in St. Louis, Arkansas, but moved away to Stamps, Arkansas at age three due to her parents’ divorce. There, Angelou lived with her brother, Bailey, and her paternal grandmother (Galenet - Self and a Song of Freedom in the Southern Tradition). As discussed in her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, seven-year old Maya was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. The man was consequently murdered by her uncles, and Maya, feeling responsible for his death, ceased talking and remained speechless for five years.