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Overview
“Caged Bird” is a poem by Maya Angelou
. First published in her 1983 collection, Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?, the poem uses a comparison between a free bird and a caged bird as an extended metaphor for social inequity—and for racial inequity in particular. Whereas the free bird enjoys all the privileges of liberty, the caged bird remains physically and psychologically captive, able to do little more than sing a sorrowful song of longing. Drawing on the African American tradition of spirituals, Angelou explores how, even in oppressive circumstances, art can provide a resource for resilience.Read a summary & analysis, an analysis of the speaker, and explanations of important quotes from “Caged Bird.”
