Sympathy by Paul Laurence
I KNOW what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals —
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting —
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!
The title of this poem is Sympathy and is written by Paul Laurence. The background information of this poem is Dunbar was the son of slaves who escaped using the Underground Railroad. He worked as a writer and published many poems and short stories. Dunbar explored the themes of slavery and life in the south.The subject of this poem is a caged bird.
The repeated words phrases are "I know why; caged bird; first. The structure of the poem has 3 stanzas with 7 lines in each section. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is abaabcc. The second stanza's rhyme scheme is abaabaa. The rhyme scheme of the last stanza is abaabcc.
The thing I like about the poem is that the poem expresses the bird's feelings about not being led out and free, like some are in this world. I think the poet is comparing a caged bird to a human slave. I think the mood of the poem is sad in some parts and angry in others. The poet repeats the phrase, "I know why the caged bird...", because he wants the reader to know that he too has felt this way.
I feel that this phrase, "I know what the caged bird feels, alas", means that the poet knows how it feels to not be free like the caged bird. The next phrase, "Till its blood is red on the cruel bars", means that the bird wants out and it's tired of being caged. The last phrase, "But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings", means that he has been a good bird and in heaven, he will be free. When I read this poem, I felt like I was kind of like the caged bird, but only a little. I felt this because I don't really have nothing to do when I am trying to do something.
I think the speaker thinks that slavery is wrong and the people that were in slavery needed freedom. I know this because it has been true to people in slavery. "When the first bird sings and the first bud opes"; Birds are singing songs of Spring and flowers are blooming. "I know why the caged bird beats his wings/Till its blood is red on the cruel bars"; Speaker understands the bird's frustration and the bird knows that escape is impossible, but it still beats its wings against the bar, trying to get away. "It is not a carol of joy or glee./But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core."; The songs that the bird is singing are not happy ones; they are a sad pleading for freedom.
The alliteration in this poem is when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass. The simile in this poem is the river flows like a stream of glass. The metaphor in this poem is caged bird = slaves or African Americans who are not FREE. Some of the rhymed words are alas, grass and glass. The imagery in this poem are first bird sings (hearing) and the first bud opes (sight), and the faint
perfume from (smell). The repetition in this poem is I Know what the caged bird feels.
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals —
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting —
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!
The title of this poem is Sympathy and is written by Paul Laurence. The background information of this poem is Dunbar was the son of slaves who escaped using the Underground Railroad. He worked as a writer and published many poems and short stories. Dunbar explored the themes of slavery and life in the south.The subject of this poem is a caged bird.
The repeated words phrases are "I know why; caged bird; first. The structure of the poem has 3 stanzas with 7 lines in each section. The rhyme scheme of the first stanza is abaabcc. The second stanza's rhyme scheme is abaabaa. The rhyme scheme of the last stanza is abaabcc.
The thing I like about the poem is that the poem expresses the bird's feelings about not being led out and free, like some are in this world. I think the poet is comparing a caged bird to a human slave. I think the mood of the poem is sad in some parts and angry in others. The poet repeats the phrase, "I know why the caged bird...", because he wants the reader to know that he too has felt this way.
I feel that this phrase, "I know what the caged bird feels, alas", means that the poet knows how it feels to not be free like the caged bird. The next phrase, "Till its blood is red on the cruel bars", means that the bird wants out and it's tired of being caged. The last phrase, "But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings", means that he has been a good bird and in heaven, he will be free. When I read this poem, I felt like I was kind of like the caged bird, but only a little. I felt this because I don't really have nothing to do when I am trying to do something.
I think the speaker thinks that slavery is wrong and the people that were in slavery needed freedom. I know this because it has been true to people in slavery. "When the first bird sings and the first bud opes"; Birds are singing songs of Spring and flowers are blooming. "I know why the caged bird beats his wings/Till its blood is red on the cruel bars"; Speaker understands the bird's frustration and the bird knows that escape is impossible, but it still beats its wings against the bar, trying to get away. "It is not a carol of joy or glee./But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core."; The songs that the bird is singing are not happy ones; they are a sad pleading for freedom.
The alliteration in this poem is when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass. The simile in this poem is the river flows like a stream of glass. The metaphor in this poem is caged bird = slaves or African Americans who are not FREE. Some of the rhymed words are alas, grass and glass. The imagery in this poem are first bird sings (hearing) and the first bud opes (sight), and the faint
perfume from (smell). The repetition in this poem is I Know what the caged bird feels.