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Sympathy And The Caged Bird Poem

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In these poems, “Sympathy” contains a powerful meaning compared to the “Caged Bird” poem. In his poem “Sympathy”, Paul Laurence Dunbar reveals his acknowledgement of his relation to the caged bird by choosing proper diction. During the poem, he emphasis his knowledge of the caged bird’s pain and desire to have freedom by imagery and metaphors. As one analyze these poems, one can affect a person by how meaningful or powerful a certain poem is such as “Sympathy” because many people have sympathy or empathy for African Americans throughout these times of segregation. “Sympathy” proves to be a most meaningful poem for one can relate while others cannot. It reveals that the title “Sympathy” shows how one feel pity but the word “know” others can feel empathy or relation to the caged bird. “Sympathy… I KNOW what the caged bird feels… I know why the caged bird beats his wings … I know why the caged bird sings…”(1, 8, 15). In the beginning, he acknowledges his relation to the bird by emphasising. “I KNOW what the caged bird feels…” (1). Therefore, these poems give an example of how the author can relate for …show more content…

In “Sympathy”, the bird beats his wing to escape but then begins imploring or sings a prayer to the help of a higher power for freedom such as “Caged Bird”, which both have a metaphor that’s mutual. “When his wing is bruised and bosom sore… a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, but a plea… Heaven flings… caged bird sings…” (6, 19-21). As analyzing and intricately the poem, it shows how some objects are symbolizing others. “caged bird beats his wing … Till its blood is red on the cruel bars… pain throbs in the old, old scars…”(8, 9, 12). Such as the caged being the segregation, being African Americans and the beat of the wing a movement towards freedom. The Civil Rights movement all began with each beat of the wing against the bars and each note they

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Also, the idea that authors build well developed characters to bring about a deeper understanding is shown through the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In this poem, the speaker explains of being trapped in the things that society says about him. Through these texts, it is evident that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing great characters because when characters go through daily events that are challenging and troublesome, the readers are able to relate and understand what they are going through or we are able to learn from their experiences and influence us to adjust our lifestyles. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

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If we compare the bird’s wings to Tom Robinson’s hope, the feet to his heart, and his action of  running to the action of opening his throat to sing, we can visualize the song that Tom Robinson would sing, one about him losing hope and not wanting anyone to control his life anymore, and so in this manner he is very much like the caged bird in this poem. Similarly, Tom Robinson’s physical struggles can be compared to the caged bird in the poem “Sympathy”. In the novel it’s written “Tom

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The feelings of the birds and how they go about their lives is a way to show what the caged bird is longing for, but can’t have. In “Sympathy”, the author sympathizes with the bird’s feelings of being caged in rather than talking about what it would be like to be free. The title “Sympathy” is so appropriate for the poem because it really is about how the bird feels and how you can sympathize with the pain and imprisonment the bird feels. There should be no preference over one of the poems. The reason being is that both poems were great at showing that it is freedom that they want and

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The bird is interpreted as the symbol of the African-American people, beating their metaphorical wings against their past cages of slavery, and the current cage of segregation and discrimination. Dunbar highlights this notion, declaring, “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” (Dunbar, “Sympathy” 555). Dunbar addresses the fact that he is able to relate to this bird, and mentions the fact that the bird wishes it could be free; much like the African-Americans wished they could be free from discrimination at the time, while the bruises on the bird’s wings and body symbolize the mental abuse being enforced. Dunbar uses his poem to lay the groundwork for future forms of African-American literature by perpetrating the desire for freedom and equality.

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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

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Lines one through seven define the free bird as one that “floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wing in the orange sun rays” (Angelou) this is a representation of freedom and joy. The second and third stanza lines, eight through fourteen defines the caged bird that “stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage” (Angelou) where these words reference isolation and despair compared to the freedom in stanza one. These lines create a visual response of the bird’s environments. The third stanza is repeated at the end of the poem for prominence as it reflects the two birds are so different.

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