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Maya Angelou Despotism

Decent Essays

Maya Angelou conveys the theme of despotism of one’s dreams which may lead to the yearning of freedom and liberties, internally. The caged bird, compared to an African American slave, delineates its societal pressure “… grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream” (lines 26-27), by portraying how destroying the aspirations of one may immobilize their pursuance of freedom. The oxymoron between “dreams” and “nightmare” exclaims the desperation and hopelessness of the caged bird or slave by illustrating the light in dreams and darkness in a nightmare. These juxtaposed words relate back to the theme of despotism because it displays the caged birds desire for freedom and liberty. The past haunting the bird “shadow” demonstrates the caged

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