Friday, May 24, 2019

What do you find particularly memorable in the language the poet uses in Caged Bird?

In the poem, Caged Bird, by Maya Angelou, the language has been employed effectively. She has defined her own structure, so as to find the sound, tempo and rhythm that are most sufficient for this poem. The imagery, as well as the sounds, with which the poet enjoyments to aid in the conveyance of her message and ideals, has been executed effectively. Furthermore, the use of oppose and comparison is central to the poem and is presented in a powerful, albeit straightforward manner.Angelou has chosen to shape the structure of a poem to benefit her own ideals, and has achieved this remarkably. This is apparent as, even though distributively line has a assorted number of beats, the first line only having four, the second, having six and the fourth having five, the poem in its entirety is still lyrical and musical, and this lyrical style ties in with the poems image, that of a caged bird, which sings with a fearful trill By opting not to constrain her poem through the use of rigid me ters, rhythm and general structure, each stanza, or rather, each line contributes to the poems overall idea.Whilst the structure is integral to the poem, so is the use of enjambment. In the first stanza, the structure is smooth and the address flow continuously. The poet has employed enjambment to divine service make the verse sound more clean-handed and boundless, in accordance with the image of a submit bird, which leaps on the back of the wind. The structure of the stanzas do not inhibit the meaning of them, but instead, helps to develop them, and it is this skill with which Angelou writes that makes the poem as a whole, effective and memorable.Moreover, Angelou has employed imagery to her advantage in this poem. By using strong, connotative words, she has created a stronger image for the endorser to imagine. Her use of effective and clear adjectives, as well as strong, effective metaphors, create a cause picture which helps the reader to visualize the dawn-bright lawn and sighing trees, thereby enabling the reader to clearly understand the image. The metaphors allow the reader to comprehend the poets vision, and this is used again when she writes the caged bird stands on the grave of dreams as well as the lines, dips his wing in the orange suns rays. This use of strong adjectives and stronger metaphors help to clearly impress upon the reader the image which the poet has mean for us to envision.Additionally, Angelou has utilized sound to its greatest effect in each of the poems stanzas. This has been done to help set the overall tone of the verse and the entire poem. The reader can see this in the first stanza, where Angelou has used softer, longer vowel and consonant sounds to help add to the soft, carefree atmosphere of the stanza. This can be seen with words like free, leaps, and floats. This is again seen in the fourth stanza, through the use of sounds that accentuate the softness of the ambience, which is apparent in the words, breeze, soft, and sighing. In wrinkle to this, harder, shorter vowel and consonant sounds help to illustrate the bleak, wretched atmosphere of the cage in stanzas two and five. These sounds are used in stalks, clipped, and scream. This use of sound throughout the poem helps the reader to understand the contrasting atmospheres and the overall tone of the poem.Angelou has centred her poem on the contrast and comparison of the free bird and the caged bird. This contrast portrays the differences between the lives of these two birds. In the first stanza, the free bird floats downstream and dips his wings in the orange suns rays. This helps the reader to understand the carefree nature of the free bird. In contrast, in the second stanza, the caged bird stalks down his narrow cage and his wings are clipped and his feet are tied. This contrast between the free bird and the caged bird is an effective method, which Angelou enlists, to convey her beliefs and to ensure that the reader can understand her intenti ons, as well as making the poem memorable and appealing.Angelou has effectively written her poem, and in the process has made it memorable. Her choice not to follow a standard structure has proven fulfilling, as her structure has successfully evince her message. In addition, the imagery with which she portrays her visualization has helped to impress an image upon the reader, which is helped by the use of different sounds through the poem that enables the reader to fully grasp the mood of the stanzas. This, in turn, helps the contrast and comparisons in the poem to be made more prominent, which ultimately allows Angelou to successfully convey her message, that of the luxuries of freedom, and, in comparison, the bonds of an oppressive society.

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