Caged bird

Paragraph 1: Subject

  1. What does the title tell you about the poem?

It tells me that the poem is dark and sad and about animal cruelty.

  1. What is your first impression of the poem? Do you like it? Why or why not?
  1. What is the poem about? (What is the theme or subject of the poem?

The poem is about a caged bird that desperately wants to be free, and the theme is don't give up even if you feel trapped.

  1. Tone: Do you think the author has a positive or negative attitude toward the subject? (Or a different feeling toward the subject of the poem?) Explain.

The tone is neither positive nor negative, its more of a mix of both, the author talks about something sad but tries to give you hope and keeps you positive.

  1. Mood: What is the mood of the poem? is it happy, sad, devastating, etc.? Which words contribute to the overall mood?

The mood is calming and full of hope yet devastating all together.

  1. Do you think the poem has a purpose? What do you think it is? what do others (experts) think it is?

Yes, I think the poem has a purpose, it is to keep people hopeful and exited for what's to come,

Yes, I liked the poem because it has a lot of meaning and very good structure.

Paragraph 2: Context

  1. When was the poem written and/or published (year)?
  1. What do you know about the time period?
  1. Does the author write about certain things from the past?
  1. Where was the poet living and what was he/she doing (working, going to school, etc.) at the time?
  1. Does the author write about a person or event from history? Explain.
  1. Do you think what was going on during that time period had anything to do with this poem? Explain.

Yes, she wrote about herself and how she felt like a trapped bird because she was black and at that time there was a lot of racial discrimination.

Yes, she writes about racism and racial discrimination.

The poem was originally published in 1969.

In that time period people were very racist, but also sexist, so it was an especially hard time for black women like Maya Angelou.

She published her first poem at the age of 8 when she was living with her mom in St. Louis. She went to school at California labor school, then, George Washington high school.

Yes, I do because she was talking about how trapped a black woman felt during that time in that economic situation.

Paragraph 3: Form

  1. What is the type of the poem?
  1. Does the poem rhyme?
  1. Are there any divisions in the poem? (Separate stanzas)
  1. Does it follow a particular rhyme scheme? If so, explain.

yes, the poem has 6 separate stanzas.

the poem is narrative.

yes there are some words in the poem that rhyme.

no, the rhyme scheme changes each stanza.

Paragraph 4: Word Choice

  1. What do the words alone tell you? (What does it make you think of?)
  1. Are there any difficult or confusing words? List them.
  1. Why do you think the author chose to use those particular words?

I think the author chose words like, ("leaps", "stalks", and "nightmare scream") to express and really show the pain and intensity of the subject of the poem.

The words tell me that she's suffering and that she has went through and experienced everything she talked about personally.

there was one word that was unfamiliar to me which is "seldom".

Paragraph 5: Figurative Language/ Sound Devices

  1. Does the poem compare things without using like or as (metaphors)?
  1. Does the poem give non-human characteristics (personification)?
  1. Does the poem use any comparison of things using the words "like" or "as" (similes)?

The poem does not compare anything using "like" or "as", so it does not have any similes.

The poem has a metaphor "A free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream" where it compares how a bird flies to floating.

When the author says "can seldom see through his bars of rage" she is using personification because she is saying that the inanimate cage bars have rage.

Paragraph 6: Finishing up

  1. Do you think your classmates would like this poem? Why or why not?
  1. Why is this poem relevant today? (importance/ impact.)
  1. After researching and analyzing the poem, has your opinion of the poem changed at all? If so, how? If not, why not?
  1. How will this poem be relevant in the future?
  1. Ask yourself "So what?" about the poem. What is the point of it? Why do you think the author wrote it?
  1. How will this poem inspire readers?

I believe this poem will deeply inspire others, because it's extremely meaningful.

this poem will still be relevant in the feature, because even if those problems are solved it will show everyone how we have evolved as a community.

the poem is still relevant today because even though these problems aren't as bad as they were then there still a problem, and this poem raises awareness to those issues.

I think that my classmates would definitely be invested in this poem as much as I am, because the poem is so well written it would intrigue anyone that reeds it.

my opinion of the poem hasn't changed so much as it evolved, after I researched about the poem I got a deeper understanding of what it meant, but I still feel the same about it.

I believe that the author wrote the poem to show people that racism affects people and hurts them, and she wanted to show them how much it hurt.