Caged Bird

Discussion questions and related resources for the poem "Caged Bird" by Maya Angelou

“Caged Bird” is one of Maya Angelou’s most famous poems; the title of her first autobiography, which tells the story of her youth, is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn
and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Questions for Discussion and Writing

1. To gain insight into the poem’s basic meaning, apply the SOAPSTone method. Keep these questions in mind as you read through and reflect on the poem.

  • What is the subject of the poem?
  • On what occasion do you think the speaker is saying the poem?
  • Who is the intended audience for the poem?
  • What do you think the purpose of the poem is?
  • Who is the speaker in the poem?
  • What is the tone of the poem (the speaker’s attitude toward the subject)?

2. Discuss the form of the poem—elements such as meterstructure, sound devices, and rhyme scheme. How does the poem’s form contribute to its meaning?

3. What is the central juxtaposition in the poem? Compare and contrast the two things that the speaker juxtaposes. Discuss examples of the speaker’s diction that develop this contrast (e.g., “leaps” in line 1 and “stalks” in line 8). What metaphorical meaning(s) might the birds in the poem have?

4. In the first stanza, to what is the speaker comparing air? What is the effect of this metaphor? In what sense might a bird “claim the sky” (line 7), and in what ways might doing so require courage?

5. Identify the rhetorical device used in lines 10-11 and discuss its meaning.

6. What is the significance of singing in the poem? If the bird is singing of things unknown and feared, why does he still long for them? Why is his tune heard “on the distant hill” (line 20)?

7. Why is the free bird thinking of “another breeze” (line 23) and “trade winds” (line 24)? What do the images of “sighing trees” (line 24) and “fat worms” (line 25) suggest, and what might they represent metaphorically? In what sense might the bird “name the sky his own” (line 26), and how would you characterize the act of doing so? What political and historical meanings do you think the references and metaphors in this stanza might have?

8. What is the “grave of dreams” (line 27), and what rhetorical device is this an example of? What things are contrasted with singing in this stanza, and what difference(s) is the speaker suggesting?

9. Discuss the speaker’s use of imagery. How are elements such as theme and tone developed through this imagery? Cite specific images in the poem.

10. Discuss the use of anthropomorphism in the poem. Why is this an effective way to explore the poem’s themes?

11. The title of Angelou’s first autobiography is I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. What does her choice of that title suggest about her personal relationship to this poem?

Related Resources

“Caged Bird”: Poem and Discussion Questions (PDF)

The Poetry Foundation: Maya Angelou
(Biography, selected poems, related content)

The Complete Poetry
Amazon | Parnassus | Powell’s

The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou
Amazon | Parnassus | Powell’s

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings movie (YouTube)

And Still I Rise DVD (PBS American Masters documentary)

PDF version

Questions © 2019 C. Brantley Collins, Jr.