Caged Bird: Key Poetic Devices

Allusion

An allusion (uh-LOO-zhun) is a passing reference to a literary or historical person, place, or event, often made without explicit identification. Angelou uses both literary and historical allusions in “Caged Bird.” Perhaps most noteworthy is the allusion contained in the figure of the caged bird. Readers who are familiar with Angelou’s work will recognize in this figure an allusion to her influential memoir of 1969, titled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Significantly, the title of Angelou’s memoir is a further allusion to Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem, “Sympathy.” This poem, originally published in 1899, also centers the figure of a caged bird, and its final stanza specifically addresses the caged bird’s song (lines 15–21):

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!

Dunbar’s caged bird sings as an expression of both profound sorrow and prayerful hope. Angelou’s caged bird likewise “sings / with a fearful trill / of things unknown / but longed for still” (lines 15–18). This description of the caged bird’s song suggests yet another allusion, this time to the historical Black tradition of spirituals, which emerged during the time of slavery. Also known as “sorrow songs,” spirituals served a complex function for enslaved people, providing solace through the expression of profound grief.

Enjambment

Enjambment (en-JAM-ment) occurs when a line of verse doesn’t end with any form of punctuation, but rather continues on to the next line without stopping. This technique plays an especially important role in “Caged Bird,” where most lines are enjambed. Other than the final line of each stanza, which concludes with a period, all other lines in the poem flow directly into the next. Angelou’s use of enjambment has a complex effect, as it offers a sensation of unboundedness and flow that stands in contrast to the caged bird’s actual experience of confinement. This tension between freedom and constraint is clearly on display in the poem’s second stanza (lines 8–14):

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.

Despite literally describing the caged bird’s confinement and the rage this constraint produces, the stanza has a strong sense of flow. Indeed, the language cascades down from one line to the next without stopping. In this way, Angelou uses a formal device to create tension, thereby conjuring for the reader a sense of the caged bird’s agony.

Extended Metaphor

An extended metaphor functions in the same way as an ordinary metaphor, but it differs in the amount of space devoted to its development. Whereas an ordinary metaphor may be mentioned in passing, an extended metaphor unfolds over the course of many lines. In the case of “Caged Bird,” Angelou develops a metaphorical link between the caged bird’s situation and the experiences of Black communities in the United States. This link between the caged bird and Black Americans may not be immediately evident from the poem itself. Angelou’s status as an influential Black writer offers one clue to this connection, but what evidence is there in the poem to suggest it? The most important clue lies in Angelou’s allusion to the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906). Dunbar was a very important writer who reflected the experiences of Black people in the aftermath of slavery. This is precisely what he did in “Sympathy,” where the caged bird served as a metaphor for Black experience. By taking up the figure of the caged bird, Angelou extends the same metaphor. Angelou also obliquely alludes to this history of slavery with the phrase “trade winds” (line 24), which refers to the wind patterns that facilitated the slave trade.

Refrain

The term refrain refers to any word, phrase, or line that gets repeated over the course of a poem. As this definition suggests, a refrain is ordinarily limited in scope, rarely exceeding the length of a single line. In the case of “Caged Bird,” however, the refrain runs the length of an entire stanza. This stanza appears in identical form in lines 15–22 and 31–38:

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.

These lines, which discuss the caged bird’s sorrowful song of longing, constitute stanzas 3 and 6. The repetition of this complete stanza clearly underscores its significance. However, it’s also important to note the significance of where this repeated stanza is placed. The first instance of this stanza comes after the speaker has offered a comparison of the inequitable situations of the free bird and the caged bird. Stanza 3 is therefore something of a crux, underscoring the bird’s agonizing mix of hope and sadness. After stanza 3 there come two stanzas that consist of longer lines. These long-lined stanzas reflect the free bird’s sense of spaciousness and freedom as well as the caged bird’s desire for the same. However, the poem doesn’t end with those stanzas. It ends, rather, with a return to the formal constraint of the short-lined stanza. The fact that this stanza is also an exact repetition of stanza 3 drives home the sorrow and longing caused by the caged bird’s ongoing confinement.

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