Lord Byron's The Prisoner of Chillon Essay

Both “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou and “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar refer to slavery using birds as metaphors and in “Sympathy”, the bird sees freedom only in death, while in “Caged Bird”, the bird hopes and believes that he will soon become free. The diction the authors use show that the “bird” is truly a slave because of the fact that they are both in pain and have bruises and scars and are bloody, as well as the fact that they are chained, and cannot run away. The bird in “Caged Bird” sang to tell his story and pass time, just like slaves did. In “Caged Bird” knows that freedom is coming, even though he is in a terrible situation. The slaves “wings” are constantly being clipped so he cannot run away meaning that he is chained. The slaves’

The theme of Sympathy is the oppressive treatment of both the narrator and the bird, and the imprisonment of the bird and how the narrator sympathizes with it. This is shown through the diction choices which create dark images of mistreatment and sorrow, and imagery that is strengthened in repetition. An example of diction that supports the theme is “...its blood is red on the cruel bars;” this choice of words gives image of a dark, dirty cage with a wounded beaten bird and its cage that is blood red from his wounds; this image is very oppressive and gives characteristics of the prisonization of the bird. The next example of the poem’s theme is shown by imagery and repetition, which come together convey strong flashing images of the imprisonment of the bird and its oppressive feeling. “When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- When he beats his bars and he would be free;”, this quote gives imagery to the reader to see a bruised, tired, and dirty bird beating against his cage for freedom. The repetition of the word “when” in the quote gives off the effect to the reader of flashing images one after the other. While the use of the words “bars”, “bruised”, “sore”, and “he beats”, give off the specific imagery characteristic of oppression to the reader’s developing images.

In the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Dunbar also explains how the slaves sang songs to relieve their pain and misery which was caused by slavery. Dunbar also went through something similar to what Douglass went through when he states, “I know what the caged bird feels.” It’s different when you have been through it yourself, and when you have just heard about it. Experience is the real deal, and once you have, you’re scarred for life as Dunbar states with the help of imagery, “I know why the caged bird beats his wing till its blood is red on the cruel bars.” The use of imagery in this quote helps the readers imagine what the poet is talking about. When you go through all that, all the misery and pain, you need a way to express your emotion and the things you have been through. That’s why the slaves sang their songs, “It’s not a carol of joy and glee, but a prayer that it sends from its heart’s deep core,” stated Dunbar in the poem. In the previous quote he uses invocation to call

The first element our writers used to express their message of wanting to be free is form. The narrator for ‘The Caged Bird” feels alone and wishes to be able to snatch the chains that keep her tied down. Also, in the poem “Sympathy” by Dunbar as well an in “The Caged Bird” both authors used a bird to symbolize the captivity and aspiration for freedom. Both poets wrote their piece in lyric form because of obvious reasons. A lyric poem is defined as a poem that expresses personal and emotional feelings. Writing poems with this form shows the amount of deep emotion that the narrator feels toward this work. In addition, both authors wrote their poems in iambic pentameter to make the poem sound like a natural flow of speech to really show the deep feelings the poets are feeling.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” depicts two birds which are used as metaphors to express the state in which the two classes of people live. In one description the poem describes the standard of living of a bird of privilege which alludes to the lives of whites. Then it describes caged birds whom of which are crying out for freedom, and are meant to represent African Americans during this time. It describes the feeling of being trapped and calling out for

When someone is faced with the hardships that come with war, they are forced t0 really think about their surroundings and what they can do to protect themselves. Louie used things he knew about his surroundings to keep himself and others around him alive. When the Bird would come around the prisoners would use,

At first he is overjoyed with the way things are turning out, but soon he feels the harsh reality life away from society. While with Rainy and the other hippies, he finds joy in the bonds he builds and the pain of everyday trifles is more easily bearable when shared. But once he is off again on his own, he truly suffers with every happening, all the more intense with no one to assist him or even to speak to. When he kills a moose, flies and maggots battle to destroy all the meat before he can get a chance to cook it for himself, and he’s furious, but with no one to rant to. As he tries to cross the river to get away from the wilderness, it nearly drowns him, and he’s stuck by himself, scribbling down, “lonely, scared” in his journal. When he mistakenly eats inedible sweet peas and is faced with inevitable death, nature is suddenly perceived as the enemy, unable to assist him, and he writes, “have literally become trapped in the wild”. The brutality of nature and pains of solitude truly show the downside to his transcendental ways, and seem to make him realize that nature isn’t all beauty and

“But a caged bird stands on a grave of dreams... His wings are clipped and his feet are tied/so he opens his throat to sing…” (M.A 26-29). This quote describes the birds emotions as it loses its dreams, it doesn't lose its hope so it repeatedly sings hoping it will reach a bird for assistance. It also portrays a very positive them as the reader figures out that its perseverance pays off. “...and his tune is heard/on the distant hill…”(M.A 19-20). This is validating the fact that the bird’s prayers have successfully been retrieved and help is nearer than it has been thought.

"Allegory of the Cave" Review Questions An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Plato is said to have placed his mentor, Socrates, in his place in the story. Therefore, Plato is having a discussion wit one of his fellows known as Glaucon.

The bird in the story represents someone who lost hope in receiving freedom. That concept is best shown in the story, “But the swallow no longer believes what people say”. The bird lost complete hope. The bird is promised that he will be taken care of, but each time he finds himself in the hand of a new owner. In each situation he begs to be freed but no one seems to understand him. The

‘And his tune is heard on the distant hill’ means that even though the bird continues as a prisoner, someone manages to listen to his melody; many even hear it from far away. ‘For the caged bird sings of freedom’, the final line of the stanza, establishes what the bird sings about, he wants freedom. Most of the African-American literature consisted on the horrors of slavery and segregation, and it lasted up to the 60’s (racism stayed as relevant during present-day but slavery and segregation are outlawed); many writers even doubled as civil activists. Despite this, people consider their literature as masterpieces nowadays. They represent the caged bird, with their opportunities limited and a free world they could only dream of. However, their voices managed to get heard and their pleas received answers. They managed to get allies throughout the world to help them in their

In “I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings”, Maya Angelou wanted to show how people really felt about the freedom of others and how it was all taken for granted. In the poem “Sympathy”, Dunbar feels that he is confined to a world where freedom is not his, and he is only able to watch the world from his cage. Maya Angelou uses “the bird, which represents someone with the freedom to fly. “ But a plea, that upward to Heave he flings- I know why the caged brings sings”, means his voice is the only thing in him that can’t be locked behind bars of the cage, where it seems to give him freedom to his heart.

Lord Byron’s works, such as Don Juan and other poems reflect not only the suave and charming characteristics of the Romantic Period, but they also reveal the nature of Byron’s uncommitted and scandalous life. Byron, like most Romantic era authors, was very unpredictable and opinionated in all of his writings. From the hatred of his upbringing, to the love of adventure, and also to the love of meaningless relationships with various women were majorly influenced and illustrated through all of his works and especially in “Don Juan.” Yet he still managed to infiltrate his poems with charm, romance, and heroism. Byron was a perfect fit for the Romantic Period and his poems and he was therefore known as a great contributor towards the era.

The mood of “Caged Bird” changes drastically from stanza to stanza. Angelou’s specific diction choices help to reflect the change from being positive to negative with some elements of hope involved. The parts of the poem involving the free bird provide the reader with a feeling of self government.In contrast, the mood associated with the caged bird is confinment. Despite the negative mood tied to the caged bird there are still elements of hope woven into these stanzas.

In the last stanza, the caged bird’s song symbolises the emotions and cries of freedom. The combination of the two represents that there is a need for every child to reach their full potential. Something that cannot be achieved with helicopter parenting and the barriers placed upon them.