SYMPATHY
by: Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906
- I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
- When the sun is bright on the upland slopes
- When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass
- And the river flows like a stream of glass
- When the first bird sings and the first bud opes
- And the faint perfume from its chalice steals
- I know what the caged bird feels!
- I know why the caged bird beats his wing
- Till its blood is red on the cruel bars
- For he must fly back to his perch and cling
- When he fain would be on the bough a-swing
- And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
- And they pulse again with a keener sting
- I know why he beats his wing!
- 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
- Poet:Paul Laurence Dunbar
- Background information:Dunbar was the son of slaves who escaped using the Underground Railroad. He worked as a writer and published many poems and short stories. Dunbar explored the themes of slavery and life in the South.
- Repeated words and phrases:i know why,caged bird
- Structure of the poem:Rhyme
- Scheme:A caged bird I know why; caged bird; first 3 stanzas with 7 lines in each abaabcc
What the poet is saying:
The mood of the poem:
Why does he repeat the phrase “I know why the caged bird”?
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