Sympathy And The Caged Bird Poem Analysis

In the two poems Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou, gave a comparison between the life of a caged bird and the life of a slave. There are similarities and differences in the two poems. The difference between the two poem is that Sympathy is more aggressive than the poem Caged Bird, and the similarities of the two poems is the theme and imagery. The poem Sympathy the poem Caged Bird both share a very common theme; segregation, slavery, and imprisonment. According to the poem Sympathy, “Till its blood is red on the cruel bar… I know why he beats his wings.” And from the poem Caged Bird, “…His bars of rage…so he opens his throat to sing.” These quotes show that both birds are treated like slaves. The bird from Sympathy was shipped until the back is full of blood and the bird from Caged Bird was held in a dungeon where it will die. In the same way, the two poems share the same imagery; birds being treated like slaves. Both birds are being tortured by their owners. In Sympathy, it says,

The differences in the two poems is that Sympathy has a more aggressive tone to it than Caged Bird. According to Sympathy, “…Bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars.” This shows an aggressive side by describing how bad the bird want to be free. On the other hand, the poem Caged Bird is less aggressive because it relieves the pin by singing. The poem states that the bird shouts a nightmare scream and that the bird feels tired of being trapped and wants to get out all the emotions the bird was holding. In conclusion, the two poems have similarities and differences. Sympathy and Caged Bird revealed the struggles the birds and the slaves faced; going through tortures. The caged birds are just like slaves being whipped and being locked up. Many times, others would be hurting on the inside, but many don’t express it on the outside, so that’s why the caged bird