Comparison Of Sympathy And Caged Bird

In the poetries, “Sympathy” and “Caged Bird”, the authors express how the bird symbolizes persistence, bravery, strength, patience, motivation and rebelling. The caged bird symbolizes many significances and reveals the theme which is, imprisonment has a major effect on the soul. The authors use theses symbols to help the reader relate to the implied theme of the poem and to help create an eerie/dark mood for the poem. Both authors went through confinement because of race and oppression, which allowed them to create these symbol describing their experiences being segregated.
In the first part of the poem of “Caged Bird”, the bird symbolizes persistence and patience. The bird symbolizes persistence by singing even though he is trapped. “But a bird that stalks/down his narrow cage/can seldom see through/his bars of rage/his wings are clipped and/his feet are tied/so he
The bird is symbolized to be motivated in the first part of the poem when he is stated to be standing up for what he is going through. “But a caged bird stands on the grave of his dreams/his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream/his wings are tied so he opens his throat to sing” (Angelou 26-29). This shows that even though his feathers are clipped and his feet are tied, he is still standing up on behalf of his imprisonment and singing for freedom. The bird is also symbolized to be rebelling when he is stated to be expressing for freedom. “When he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that sends his heart’s deep core, But a plea that upward to Heaven he flings” (Dunbar 17-20). This shows that the bird is symbolized to be rebelling against him being caged. This is related to the theme as it shows that the soul will rebel against the obstacle they are facing. This is how the bird is symbolized to be motivated and rebelling in the end of the