Analysis Of The Poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

The Time of Renewal â€Å"Here on the pulse of this new day you may have the grace to look up and out and into your sister’s eyes, into your brother’s face, your country and say simply very simply with hope good morning†. Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was a writer and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou was well known for her memoir in 1969, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Maya Angelou made literary history being the very first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. In 1971, Angelou published Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water Fore I Die that won the Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection. Later, she wrote the poem On the Pulse of Morning â€Å"one of her most famous works which she recited at President Bill Clinton s inauguration in 1993. Angelou received several different honors throughout her career as a writer and civil rights activist, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. She died on May 28, 2014 and left with a great legacy. â€Å"On the Pulse of Morning† is speaking on survival and renewal. Her poem is very lyrical and inspirational. It allows human beings have the imagination and courage to build up something new instead of tearing down what we have built thus far. This poem declares a positive statement that without a doubt the human race will indeed survive. This poem speaks of love as the answer to our fear - fear of commitment, fear of risk, fearShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings 1267 Words   |  6 PagesJoy McQueary Ms. Ball AP English Language 16 May 2017 SAHC: J.M. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings â€Å"Wouldn’t they be surprised when one day I woke out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blonde, would take the place of the kinky mass that Momma wouldn’t let me straighten?† (4) A theme in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Angelou’s identity struggle as a black female. During this time in the country, colorism and a European standard taught that having black features wasRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing And Phenomenal Women 1217 Words   |  5 Pages The importance of Maya Angelou’s, â€Å"I know why the Caged Bird Sing† and â€Å"Phenomenal Women† is the focus of identity, feminism and racism. Throughout these poems, we will see the way she explores the life of women in a male dominated society and the racial segregation between whites and blacks that took place for over hundreds of years. Each poem reflects its own form of identity for both women and African Americans during segregation. Her use of metaphors, symbolism, figure of speech, and imageryRead MoreMaya Angelou655 Words   |  3 Pageseveryone could have equality in the United States. The poem, â€Å"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,† by the poet Maya Angelou, uses the following poetic devices: symbolism and lyric that give meaning to poem. The first poetic device that this poem shows is symbolism. Symbolism is when an author or poet uses a person, place, thing or an event to represent something else. An example of 3(1565443) symbolism from the poem would be â€Å"The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longedRead MoreI 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. This comparison ofRead MoreI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings By Maya Angelou Analysis840 Words   |  4 Pages There is one person that is a civil rights activist, memoirist, a poet and above all a woman, this person is none other than Maya Angelou. Angelou has been a famous American poet since the release of her 1969 autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Angelou has inspired many people by telling her life story to the public, but not only did she inspire, she also created a very different and personal point of view of the world we live in. The poem’s she has written transition from painRead MoreMaya Angelou : An Influential Voices Of Modern Society Essay1386 Words   |  6 Pagesresulted in the memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first non-fiction best seller by an African-American woman. Continuing her success, Maya became the first African-American woman to have her screenplay turned into a film, the Pulitzer Prize nominated film, Georgia, Georgia. Maya Angelou published a total of 7 autobiographies, 3 books of essays and numerous books of poetry over many decades. Her first book of poems to be published, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘fore I Diiie, was releasedRead MoreAnalysis Of Maya Angelou s Caged Bird 1835 Words   |  8 PagesPower Because I live in a community with a majority black population, it is very easy to know all of the famous African American people. Growing up with my grandparents, I always heard a lot about the loving Dr. Maya Angelou. She was a tremendous figure in their lives and a phenomenal woman. One day my family was sitting outside, and my mom was reading a book with a lot of famous poems. The one she read aloud was Maya Angelou’s poem â€Å"Caged Bird.† She was so emotional reading this poem. During thatRead MoreWhy Should Anybody Care?1198 Words   |  5 Pages ELA7_SB_U5_L11 Introduction and Objective â€Å"Why should anybody care?† That’s the question of the day! The answer is also how you create an effective concluding section for your essay. You want to make sure your reader understands why they read through your entire essay, and you want them to be happy they spent the time doing it! Today s lesson objective is: Students will write a concluding section that follows from the information or explanation presented. In addition to a strong introductionRead MoreMaya Angelou: A Model Woman Through Influential Literature Essay1708 Words   |  7 Pagescomes from her extraordinary books and poems. Her literature has influenced the young and old with their contents. Maya Angelous literary significance rests primarily upon her exceptional ability to tell her life story as both a human being and a black American woman. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focuses on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , written in 1969, tells of her firstRead MoreTradition And The Individual Talent944 Words   |  4 Pagesthe people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time.† However the playwright, poet, and critic T.S. Eliot believes tradition in a poetry sense varies through cultures, through time, and it is ever changing. In Eliot’s critical analysis â€Å"Tradition and the Individual Talent† tradition is something considered passed down but in a poetry sense, it is something that is not inherited, it is something that requires great ambition and focus to learn from past poets. A great poet must learn