38 pages 1 hour read

Maya Angelou

Caged Bird

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1983

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Literary Device Answers

1. D. The comparison between a caged bird and oppression continues throughout the poem as an extended metaphor.

2. C. The “caged bird” alludes to Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy”: “I know what the caged bird feels, alas!”

3. A. Enjambment causes one poetic line to flow to the net, creating a flow like flying.

4. B. The stanzas about the caged bird outnumber the stanzas about the free bird, emphasizing a longing for unfulfilled freedom.

5. B. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds. The /s/ sound echoes the action of sighing.