Caged Bird Question and Answer

CAGED BIRD

Maya Angelou

I. Answer these questions in one or two words.

1. Where was the poet born?

Ans: Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928.

2. What does the word "clipped" mean in the poem?

Ans: The word "clipped" in the poem means “be fastened”.

3. What did the caged bird do inside the cage?

Ans: Inside the cage, the caged bird sings in a wavering voice of things unknown which is supposed to be the songs of freedom.

4. Where does the free bird dip its wings?

Ans: The free bird dips its wings in the orange sun rays explore the sky.

5. What does the free bird think of?

Ans: The free bird thinks of another breeze as it enjoys flying through the trade wind that blows through the trees. 'It also thinks of the fat worm that will be his food.

Answer these questions in a few words.

1. What does the free bird do downstream?

Ans: The free bird hovers over a stream of wind and floats downstream to where the current of the stream ends and the wind is calm. It dips its wing in the sea of orange sunlight. It has the freedom to move about wherever it desires.

2. What is a trade wind?

Ans: A trade wind is a strong wind continually blowing towards the equator from the southeast to the northeast.

3. Why does the caged bird sing 'a fearful trill'?

Ans: The author implies that even though the caged bird may have never experienced true freedom, deep down, the bird still knows it was created to be free. Although freedom, to the caged bird, is "fearful" because it is "unknown," he still sings "a fearful trill" because he still longed for freedom.

4. What kind of song does the caged bird sing?

Ans: The caged bird is singing in a wavering voice, a song of unknown things which the bird so longs for Freedom. The bird seems to sing this song to express its feelings and emotions. Thus, the caged bird is singing the song of freedom.

5. What does the phrase "grave of dreams" mean?

Ans: The phrase "grave of dreams" implies the death of the hopes and dreams of a whole race of people.

 

Answer these questions briefly.

1. What does the free bird symbolize?

Ans: The free bird symbolizes the white community, which has oppressed Black people. The free bird enjoys its freedom without any interference. The free bird is compared to the white race retaining freedom and aversion towards black people of America. They have the freedom to pursue their ambition easily. They are unaware of the cries and needs of the oppressed black community.

2. What does the caged bird symbolize?

Ans: The caged bird in the poem symbolizes the black people who were oppressed by the Whites in America. Just like the bird in the cage is unable to move as his wings are clipped and feet are tied, people deprived of freedom are not able to progress and grow.

3. Describe the helplessness of the caged bird?

Ans: The poet's tone in the poem "Caged Bird" is dark, unnerving, and even frustrating. She describes that the caged bird can hardly see through his bars of rage. The bird is helpless by everything but only responds by opening his throat to sing due to his immense longing for freedom. That the caged bird is hardly able to get a glimpse of the sky which makes him angry. His clipped wings and tied feet tied prevent him from flying away. His aspirations are suppressed, he is helpless to even get a sight of the great freedom outside the bars of the cage which makes the bird resentful for he longs for freedom to be outside the cage. This helplessness gives rise to anger and sadness for the caged bird. All he can do is sing the songs of freedom showing his desire. This is how the poetess has shown positivity in difficult times as the bird sings despite being caged.

IV. Answer the questions in details.

1. What is the theme of the poem "Caged Bird"?

 Ans: Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird" deals with multiple thematic concerns such as freedom versus enslavement, discrimination, and unfulfilled dreams. All these thematic concerns directly deal with the greater theme of racism. The free bird flying and soaring high in the sky is symbolic of individuals who are treated equally in society. However, the caged bird who is unable to move is symbolic of the people deprived of their basic rights. The freedom of the bird flying in the sky in his natural habitat is shown. He is untroubled as he flies in the orange sun rays of early morning highlighting the idea of glow and happiness. On the other hand, the caged bird has his wings clipped and feet tied. The caged bird cannot fly freely in the sky. His vision of freedom is absent. He is filled with rage and is also helpless at the same time. All he can do is open his throat to sing songs of freedom. This is to capture the idea of racism and slavery in society. The free bird is referred to the White Americans and the caged bird is with reference to African Americans who were deprived of their rights. The caged bird represents the community that was prevented from social, religious and cultural freedom on account of the colour of the skin. However, the White Americans were unrestricted and the privileged section of society. The caged bird still longs for freedom in his song and the poem ends on a positive note as his tune is heard at a distant hill. This shows that the bird despite being caged was raising his voice against imprisonment and singing about freedom.

2. Compare and contrast the condition of the caged bird and the free bird.

Ans: Maya Angelou's poem "Caged Bird" describes the state of two birds, viz., the free bird and the caged bird. The free bird is enjoying his freedom by flying high in the sky. He has the liberty of choosing his way and food. He is capable of exploring any and every part of the sky. His wings and feet are tied. The poetess emphasises his situation and thus repeats the last stanza for greater effect about the caged bird's imprisonment. On the other hand, the caged bird possesses its own limitations. His wings are clipped and feet are tied. He hardly even gets a chance to see the sky. He has been placed in a cage that prevents it flying. Despite its fear, the cage bird continues to sing for freedom. The bird opens his mouth to sing because his desire for freedom and his desire to express himself cannot be controlled. The poetess has made use of this contrast in separate stanzas for greater emphasis. The first stanza describes about the free bird enjoying his freedom, whereas the second and third stanzas describe the agonies of the caged bird. The fourth stanza again speaks of the free bird and his choices. However, the fifth stanza states the helplessness of the caged bird. The sixth stanza is a repetition of the third stanza for greater emphasis of the caged bird's stress highlighting the effect of his imprisonment. There is a change of tone after each stanza reflecting this contrast between the dark and pleasant side as the caged bird is so dejected in his imprisonment that he screams, whereas the free bird is so happy and merry that he chooses where to fly and his food.

V. Additional questions.

1. What does the poet wish to imply by the lines 'a free bird leaps on the wind and floats downstream'?

Ans: By the line 'a free bird leaps on the wind and floats downstream', the poet wishes to imply that the free bird readily takes flight with the wind that passes by. It is free to soar with the wind and float gently downstream because its wings are not clipped and its feet are not tied.

2. The poet says that the caged bird sings with a 'fearful trill'. Why do you think she uses the word 'fearful' here?

Ans: The caged bird sings with a fearful trill because it is apprehensive of what dangers its song may lead into. It has lost confidence after being confined and it does not feel free to sing, it is afraid of the atrocities it may be subjected to.

3. Where is the song of caged bird heard? What does he sing of?

Ans: The song of the caged bird is heard on a distant hill. He sings of freedom and things unknown but longed for still.