Sympathy By Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Sympathy” Paul Laurence Dunbar, a well known African American novelist and poet was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1872. As a child, he faced racial prejudice being in the new, first generation of free blacks after the Civil War. Because of this, in 1899 he wrote the poem “Sympathy” to express his thoughts and feelings. Dunbar uses both imagery and repetition to illustrate his connection and how he relates to a caged bird in his poem “Sympathy”. Dunbar's use of imagery sets the mood of his poem. In line five, Dunbar says, “when the first bird sings,” this is making the reader imagine the sound of the morning bird singing, something that is very recognizable and clear. Again in line five he says, “and the first bud opes”. Also, another example of