The Differences and Similarities Between Caged Bird and...

The Differences and Similarities Between Caged Bird and Still I Rise ‘Caged Bird’ and ‘Still I Rise’ are in their own ways similar, because they are both noticeably about the coloured race and the entrapment of that race and their bid for freedom. But both poems also display many differences, like the use of metaphors and ways of expressing their determination and the segregation of their race. Their titles almost sound like opposites with a capture of something and a rise above something, but ‘Still I Rise’ would also be a rise above a capture or an attempt at a capture Maya Angelou, the author, was raised in segregated, rural Arkansas, and so this could be the reason for the content of her poems. I think that she has†¦show more content†¦The structure of ‘Caged Bird’ is clearly stated in the verses and the poem moves at a steady pace, exploring the bird’s actions and feelings throughout the poem. The first verse of this poem starts with the freedom of the bird and its joys of being able to do what it wants, but this is short lived and the bird is captured in the second and remainder of the verses. Although there is a theme of the bird’s song running through the whole poem, it is concentrated in verse three and the same verse is repeated as verse six. This is so that the reader doesn’t forget the message the poet is trying to portray. The fourth verse is about the things the bird is looking forward to, if it manages to escape its captivity, but the reality comes back to the bird in the fifth and sixth verses, and so the bird returns to its song for freedom once again. The arrangement of the first verse in ‘Caged Bird’ starts with one capital letter at the beginning and one full stop at the end, which suggests the movement and freedom of the bird. ‘Still I Rise’ has more of a hidden message. It does not contain a journey, unlike ‘Caged Bird’, although ‘Still I Rise’ has a distinctive rhythm, which stays the same until the last two verses, which the writer uses to get the message of the will for her to rise above the segregation across to the reader. The rhythm also suggests the marching of slavery, which again reinforces the message of the treatment of theShow MoreRelatedI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings And Still I Rise By Maya Angelou1517 Words   |  7 PagesPoems of Color The poems â€Å" I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings† and â€Å"Still I Rise† by Maya Angelou are both poems that speak on the issues of the mistreatment of African Americans, and how these challenges were created simply by the color of one’s skin and overcome. While the poems â€Å"Mother To Son† and â€Å" Dreams† by Langston Hughes refer to the hopes of African Americans for a better standard of living, and the consequences of departing from these dreams of bettering themselves. 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