Sympathy By Paul Laurence Dunbar
I KNOW what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals —
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting —
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!
Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about a caged bird. Dunbar was the son of a slaves who escaped using the underground railroad. He often wrote about slavery and life in the south.
Dunbar uses a ABAABCC rhyming pattern to tell his tale of a bird in a cage. The poem is in stanzas of 7 lines each. Each of the stanzas tells about the poor bird and his desire to be free.
“I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars”
Speaker understands the bird‟s frustration. Bird knows that escape is impossible but it
still beats its wings against the bar trying to get away. He wants the reader to know that he too has felt this way. Also makes me think that he was a caged bird to.
“It is not a carol of joy or glee./ But a prayer that he sends from his heart‟s deep core.”
The songs that the bird is singing are not happy ones; they are a sad pleading for freedom. I felt confusion first then sadness and then sympathy. Once I figured out that bird was a metaphor for slaves. It was sad to think about how they wanted to get away but couldn‟t.
“I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars”
Speaker understands the bird‟s frustration. Bird knows that escape is impossible but it still beats its wings against the bar, trying to get away. Speaker seems to be getting angrier because his images are getting more violent.
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals —
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting —
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —
I know why the caged bird sings!
Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about a caged bird. Dunbar was the son of a slaves who escaped using the underground railroad. He often wrote about slavery and life in the south.
Dunbar uses a ABAABCC rhyming pattern to tell his tale of a bird in a cage. The poem is in stanzas of 7 lines each. Each of the stanzas tells about the poor bird and his desire to be free.
“I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars”
Speaker understands the bird‟s frustration. Bird knows that escape is impossible but it
still beats its wings against the bar trying to get away. He wants the reader to know that he too has felt this way. Also makes me think that he was a caged bird to.
“It is not a carol of joy or glee./ But a prayer that he sends from his heart‟s deep core.”
The songs that the bird is singing are not happy ones; they are a sad pleading for freedom. I felt confusion first then sadness and then sympathy. Once I figured out that bird was a metaphor for slaves. It was sad to think about how they wanted to get away but couldn‟t.
“I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars”
Speaker understands the bird‟s frustration. Bird knows that escape is impossible but it still beats its wings against the bar, trying to get away. Speaker seems to be getting angrier because his images are getting more violent.
BIG 10
Alliteration ;
Monica makes money out of milk
Bella bakes bacon before you will get there
Allusion;
Days at West Jeff is better than the ones at Joe Clark school but not as fun as the ones on Glee.
Figurative Language;
Derrick is so mad that steam is coming out his ears
Derrick runs faster than a jet
Metaphor;
My life is like a flower blooming
Extended Metaphor;
Onomatopoeia;
The rain went drip drop on the roof
The car went zoom when it went pass me
Personification;
When I walked up to a tree it sad hi
Rhyme;
Burger King food is bad
They always put it in a bag
Repetition;
The best soft drink in the world '' Arizona Mango ''
Simile;
runs as fast as a jet and smart as a computer
Monica makes money out of milk
Bella bakes bacon before you will get there
Allusion;
Days at West Jeff is better than the ones at Joe Clark school but not as fun as the ones on Glee.
Figurative Language;
Derrick is so mad that steam is coming out his ears
Derrick runs faster than a jet
Metaphor;
My life is like a flower blooming
Extended Metaphor;
Onomatopoeia;
The rain went drip drop on the roof
The car went zoom when it went pass me
Personification;
When I walked up to a tree it sad hi
Rhyme;
Burger King food is bad
They always put it in a bag
Repetition;
The best soft drink in the world '' Arizona Mango ''
Simile;
runs as fast as a jet and smart as a computer
Some of the things that I know to be true....
I am
I am a boy
I am a football player
I am me
I am a learner
I am a creative person
I am hooked on technology
I am lipps
I am a eater
I am LiL Dee
I am a lover
I am a boy
I am a football player
I am me
I am a learner
I am a creative person
I am hooked on technology
I am lipps
I am a eater
I am LiL Dee
I am a lover