Paul Laurence Dunbar Sympathy Analysis

Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African-American poets to receive widespread recognition from both the Caucasian and African-American communities released many pieces of literature expressing his feelings throughout his life during the Reconstruction era. Two of these pieces, “We Wear the Mask” and “Sympathy” were short poems that veered from his regular dialectic pieces, aimed at aiding in Reconstruction, and held hidden rebellions against the mistreatment of African-Americans at the time the passages were released. The African-American and Ethnic Literary Studies critical approach is a tool used while critiquing pieces of literature that hold common themes or elements tracing back to slavery and segregation in early America. This approach

The two poems “Sympathy” written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and “Caged Bird” written by Maya Angelou are so similar, yet so different. Both of the poems are very similar because they both share a single underlying theme which is Freedom. Both Dunbar and Angelou wrote their poems about a universal concept that individuals will find at some point in their lifetime. These poems show that when one fights for their rights they will face difficulties, but them having hope will help for them to overcome their pain. The birds in “Sympathy” and “Caged Bird” demonstrate that if they get caught up in a trap the birds are still able to fight for what they want.

If we compare the bird’s wings to Tom Robinson’s hope, the feet to his heart, and his action of  running to the action of opening his throat to sing, we can visualize the song that Tom Robinson would sing, one about him losing hope and not wanting anyone to control his life anymore, and so in this manner he is very much like the caged bird in this poem. Similarly, Tom Robinson’s physical struggles can be compared to the caged bird in the poem “Sympathy”. In the novel it’s written “Tom

You cannot appreciate the good if you do not experience the bad. However in the poem “Sympathy”, by Dunbar, you can visualize the darker side of hope seeing as he gives more insight in the hurting side of hope. Both the poems use the metaphor of a bird to visualize the overall meaning of the poem. Dunbar uses his bird as a metaphor for the lack of freedom and

In the two poems Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, gave a comparison between the life of a caged bird and the life of a slave. There are similarities and differences in the two poems. The difference between the two poem is that Sympathy is more aggressive than the poem Caged Bird, and the similarities of the two poems is the theme and imagery. The poem Sympathy the poem

[and] I know why the caged bird beats his wing / Till it’s blood red on the creek bars; / For he must fly back to his perch and cling/ when he fain would be on. The cough a swing; / And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars / and they pulse again with a keener sting” (Dunbar 1-2, 4-5, 8-13).

Angelou and Dunbar show similarities when they describe feeling trapped like caged birds, but their portrayal of the birds contrast in their actions

In Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy” there is end rhyme present but no real rhyme scheme. Those are some of the rhythmic elements Dunbar uses in his writing. Dunbar writes his poems on very serious matters, such as life and dreams and identity. In his poem “We Wear the Mask” Dunbar writes about people wearing masks but the true meaning of the poem is how people will try to hide their identity to look like a better more perfect person. In his poem “Life” dunbar writes about how life is not always good and at t8imes life seems to be really bad.

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.

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.

Poetry is an effective means used to convey a variety of emotions, from grief, to love, to empathy. This form of text relies heavily on imagery and comparison to inflict the reader with the associated feelings. As such, is displayed within Stephen Dunn 's, aptly named poem, Empathy. Quite ironically, Dunn implores strong diction to string along his cohesive plot of a man seeing the world in an emphatic light. The text starts off by establishing the military background of the main protagonist, as he awaits a call from his lover in a hotel room.

Also, the idea that authors build well developed characters to bring about a deeper understanding is shown through the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In this poem, the speaker explains of being trapped in the things that society says about him. Through these texts, it is evident that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing great characters because when characters go through daily events that are challenging and troublesome, the readers are able to relate and understand what they are going through or we are able to learn from their experiences and influence us to adjust our lifestyles. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

The singing caged bird in the article refers to her having no other means to change her situation other than "singing," that is using literary works such as poetry and novels. 2. During the interview with the poet, comedian Chappelle admitted

The entire poem consists of various metaphors of racial segregation present in the society Angelou was born into. The caged bird symbolizes the oppression and suffering of people of color, whilst the free bird symbolizes the ideal society of freedom, a society lacking prejudice and discrimination. A society that, during the time in which Angelou struggled to thrive, was only available to those who were white. The caged bird 's song represents the sustaining hope of achieving this idealistic society in which all are treated with equal worth.

The narrator is aghast when he realizes that the bird can speak. The narrator, both confused and amazed, starts showering the ebony bird with questions. His confusion only grows stronger when he realizes that the bird has only one reply for, Nevermore that he keeps on repeating. The poems major themes are death and sorrow and the nature of the