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EN200 MIDTERM TAKEHOME TEST

Drew Hewitt

130499460

Dr. Wyse

Thursday, February 2nd, 2017.

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Maya Angelous Caged Bird is a free versed poem contrasting the differences

between the lives of two birds - a free bird and a bird that is trapped. It addresses the

beauty of a life that is free, and the longing, frustration, and anguish for one that is not.

This poem features six stanzas, two of which are the refrain. The opening septet is

effective at highlighting the concluding idea claiming the sky (7) that returns in line 26.

The poet also highlights idea by changing from duple meter to trimeter in line 7.

Claiming the sky (7) is an important metaphor for fully reaching ones maximum

potential and the freedom/ability to do so. The bright images in the opening stanza such

as floats downstream, dips his wings, orange sun rays, (2, 5,6) sets up a fantastic

antithesis for the following verse. Glorious freedom is contrasted with imagery of

constraint, such as, narrow cage, wings are clipped, feet are tied (9,11,12). The

effective use of enjambment and punctuation only preceding the last line of each stanza

also draws attention to the anaphors.

The refrain adds variation through the introduction of exact rhyme, and an octet.

The momentum of rhymes trill, still, and hill (16, 18, 20) in every other line builds

anticipation for the last line to follow. However, instead it emphasizes the main image - a

life that is trapped longing and singing for freedom. The refrain is essentially the core to

this poem, as it describes best the only thing a caged bird is able to do, and what that

sounds and feels like. It clearly demonstrates a tone of frustration and defeat, and voices a

strong metaphor of the poets theme. Although the voice in this poem does not address

which bird he or she actually is, the use of a repetitive refrain regarding the caged bird

draws emphasis towards it.

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A change in structure then follows in the fourth and fifth stanzas. Maya contracts

a septet into verse into a quatrain. The first couplets of each stanza rhyme. Images such as

breeze and trees (23, 24) producing a light tone of ease, while grave of dreams,

nightmare scream (27, 28) are both very dark, cacophonous, and eerie. This also

anticipates rhyme and similar line lengths for the following two lines, however the

anaphoras stand out because they do not rhyme and the final lines are half of the length.

In line 25, the poet demonstrates the luxuriant lifestyle a free bird lives through her

choice of adjective fat and effectively returns to the themes of control and choice not

being an option for caged birds.

The main theme of this poem is the injustice of rights. A bird with clipped wings

symbolizes the concept of being robbed of something that is a natural part of a birds life.

This can be interpreted as a metaphor for the inequity of human rights, as Maya Angelou

was an African American activist. It is clear the voice feels inferior to others simply due

to poets clever use of direction. In the first line a free bird is ascending in the sky, which

completely contrasts line 9 to which the caged bird is stalking down his narrow cage. It is

also evident that the caged bird feels inferior within the refrain on the distant hill (20).

This evidently states that the voice feels beneath or lesser than the birds on the hill. The

theme of imprisonment is consistent throughout this poem. This is evident in bars of

rage (10) and the verb choice of cage (9). The poem concludes with one last repetition

of the refrain and restatement of the main theme a caged bird singing of freedom.

Her kind written by Anne Sexton is a free verse, magical poem addressing three

unique lifestyles to which the narrator has fulfilled. The poet uses metaphors of a witch to

describe the different types of a woman she has been throughout her life.
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The first septet is full of imagery of a very dark and sinful character. This is

evident in possessed, haunting black air, braver at night, dreaming evil (1, 2, 3). The

tone is very rebellious and does not exactly align with what the narrator believes a

woman is or should be. Line five of the rhyme scheme ABABCDC is very effective in

pushing the momentum forward towards the refrain it as the new vowel sound mind in

line 5 builds anticipation for resolution in line 7 kind. This is also decorated with the

concluding line of the refrain being shortest in the verse, drawing even more emphasis to

the theme of the narrator being different kinds of women throughout her life.

The second verse describes a time spent raising and providing for others. A warm

cave in the woods (8) metaphorically represents a house with worms and elves (11) as

children to provide for. The variation on refrain is rather effective as it provides a new

perspective leading into the returning line and main idea I have been her kind (7). The

repetition of the shortest line in the poem adds a lot of resonance and significance to it.

The first line of the refrain is also an important piece to this poem as it summarizes the

content of the entire septet into one line.

Her kind concludes with the reference of death. Unity is present throughout all

three verses with the consistent metaphor of the life of a witch. The image where your

flames still bite my thigh (18) allies to a witch being burning at the stake. Again, the

septet concludes with a refrain, which the first line is varied to tie together the septet and

provide a new outlook on what kind of a woman the narrator has been.

The structure of the poem follows a beautiful sequence of 3 septets that reference

the three different characters the narrator has been throughout childhood/young

adulthood/middle age, and death. This is evident in the wild, braver at night, out of
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mind, (2, 5) character in the first verse, the caretaking and providing one in the second,

and the final verse I have ridden in your cart driver, waved my nude arms at villages

going by (15, 16) reflecting on the places she has been, and the life she has lead.

The listener is left with a positive tone at the end of the poem. The narrator is

proud of the different types of a person she has been at different stages throughout her

life and that she is not ashamed of her life being taken away.