Notes on I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Sound Devices

Alliteration - Repeatision of constant sounds at the beginning of words.

But the bird that
stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage...
                                                      In this stanza Maya uses alliteration of seldom and see to make the poem more affective.                                                    
Seldom and see both have the repeated "S" sound.
                                                                                                              Assonance - Repetition of of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words.        

...in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky his own.
                                                                                                  The repeated "A" sound in orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky is own.
Maya makes that sentence flow very well.
                                                                                                              Rhyme -   The occurrence of an identical sound at the ends of two or more words.

But the caged bird that stands on the graves of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream.
Maya Angelou gives an amazing picture of a caged bird and her shadow screaming.
It makes it so much stronger with the two rhyming words.
                                                                                                                                 
    Imagery in "Caged Bird"

Throughout the poem Maya Angelou, uses her style of lines and vivid sensory to make
the poem, "Caged Bird" come alive. Her imagery helps the reader find the true meaning of the poem.
In the second stanza imagery helps us feel the rage of the caged bird.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage

Maya helps us feel the anger and frustration that the caged bird feels. We
feel the sadness and anger of this bird in a bad situation. We also...