What literary devices are used in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?

Rhetorical devices abound in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, that makes the reading more memorable. Angelou successfully employs hyperbole, simile, alliteration, allusion and aphorism to draw attention to key phrases, characters or settings.

What is the main idea of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings?

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a 1969 autobiography describing the early years of American writer and poet Maya Angelou. The first in a seven-volume series, it is a coming-of-age story that illustrates how strength of character and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma.

What is the message of Maya Angelou’s poem?

Angelou deals with a sense of limitation, separation and marginalization through the metaphor of the bird in a cage. Importantly, her poem suggests that the desire to be free will always be expressed, despite circumstances that might quell the spirit.

What does Maya Angelou’s quote mean?

“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.” —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

What is the extended metaphor in Caged Bird?

Given that the caged bird in the poem is an extended metaphor for the historic struggle of the African American community under historical and ongoing racist oppression, the idea that freedom is a biological impulse argues against the inhumane cruelty of oppression.

What is the main conflict in the poem caged bird?

In Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the major conflicts are: man versus self, man versus society, and man versus man. Man versus self is a battle a major character faces within their own personality. Man versus society is a struggle against the norms of the community.

How does the Free Bird dare to claim the sky?

Free bird dares to claim the sky because as she is free and independent she want to do every thing in her life. she want everything. In the first stanza of the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is about the free bird. The poet describes the freedom and the way the flies in the open air.