Paul Laurence Dunbar Poem Analysis

When one reads this poem the first thing that probably comes to mind is slavery. Why slavery? One has to think it’s slavery because if you know Paul Laurence Dunbar’s backstory you would know that both of his parents were slaves. So this poem pretty much sums up the whole experience, because it had may emotions. Such as sad, trapped, angry, hope, and perseverance. Also one has to tell that the poem means slavery because of the way it was written. For example: “Till it’s blood is red on the cruel bars; For must fly back to his perch and cling. The “bars” are the probably the cells that his parents were put in, the perch is home. This poem can even relate to people’s lives today. For example someone could live with a very poor family it would only make sense if the person thought that this circumstance would last forever and they’ll end up the same way. So hopefully this poem will open up a new door for someone and teach them that there is always hope.
In the poem it also mentions a “free bird” and in this case it’s Maya and how she wants to be free and speak her mind just like the white people so she is comparing herself to the white people. The “singing bird” means she wants to speak up for herself and for other black people and it’s hope for her. This poem is also relevant for people today because a lot of people compare themselves with someone else because they think they’re special or they have a better life, but more than likely that person that is “special” probably has a lot of problems but doesn’t let them show. So this poem will hopefully show people that everyone has problems and no one is