Read the following extract from Maya Angelou’s poem, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ and answer the
questions that follow:
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
(i) How does Angelou describe the state of the free bird in the opening lines of the poem?
(ii) Give a brief description of the caged bird’s physical and mental condition.
(iii) Explain the phrase, ‘grave of dreams’ in your own words.
What does the caged bird sing about?
(iv) The’free bird’ and the ‘caged bird’ in the poem represent different groups of people. Name them.
Name any one group of people that you would call ‘caged birds’ in today’s world.
(v) What does the title of poem, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’, tell us about Maya Angelou’s life?
Mention two ways in which the world of the caged bird differs from that of the free bird.
Oswaal ISC Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH-2, Class-X 6
ANSWERS
SECTION A
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(i) The opening lines of the poem describe the
actions of a free bird. It takes a jump and hovers
itself over the wind and travels along with the
current, relishing in the sea of orange sunlight and
proclaiming its freedom. Here, the ‘free bird’ refers
to the people who enjoy the right to take their
decision in life independently and enjoy the bliss of
freedom.
(ii) The poem highlights the plight of the caged bird
for whom freedom is a mere dream. He has lost
the hope of flying freely in the sky with his wings
wide open because his wings are clipped and feet
are tied. He is forced to live in a confined space
and peep between the bars to have a glimpse of the
outside world. He is deprived of the joy of freedom.
The only thing he can do is to open his mouth and
sing. Here, Maya Angelou shares her frustration of
being restricted to enjoy the freedom which should
have been her right as a human being.
(iii) The phrase ‘grave of dreams’ means that the
caged bird who is a captive, knows that his desire
and dream to be free is futile. And so his dreams
culminate into nightmares. To sing, is the only
freedom available to the caged bird. Though his
heart is fearful and unmet, the bird continues to
sing of liberty, something he does not have. The
caged bird’s song is not of sadness but of inspiration
and hope.
(iv) The ‘free bird’ represents the white people and
the ‘caged bird’ represents the people of the black
community.
According to me, in today’s world, the people of
Afghanistan are the caged birds who are struggling
for their freedom against the Talibans.
(This is a sample response. Accept all relevant answer.)
(v) The poem ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’
reveals Maya Angelou’s feelings about her own
dreams. She has so many dreams that have died
becauseshewasnevergiventhefreedomtoachieve
all that her white counterparts were able to achieve.
Discrimination and racism made up her cage, and
although she sang, she felt her voice was not heard
in the wide world, but only by those nearest to her
cage.
The poem is a contrast between a ‘free bird’ and
a ‘caged bird’. The caged bird possesses its own
limitations. His wings are clipped and feet are tied.
He hardly even gets a chance to see the sky. He has
been placed in a cage that prevents it from flying.
Despite its fear, the cage bird continues to sing for
freedom. The bird opens his mouth to sing because
his desire for freedom and his desire to express
himself cannot be controlled. Whereas a free bird
thinks of another breeze so that he can enjoy the
“sighing trees” i.e., it is free from all worries and
sufferings.