Explication Analysis Assignment on Two Poems: Maya Angelou (Essay Sample)

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Explication Analysis on Two Poems
Apart from writing several autobiographical written pieces and giving several inspirational lectures, Maya Angelou is a well-known American poet who is much appreciated for her poetic work. Some of the poems she has written are Awaking in New York and Caged Bird. In this essay I will based on comparison and contrasting on her two poems; Caged Bird and Awaking in New York.
In the poem Caged Bird, Maya compares the struggle of a caged bird with a bird that is free. She tries to show the reader feeling toward the troubles of misuse, a symbol of African American and their experiences. In her poem Awaking in New York, Maya talks about waking up in the morning somewhere in New York. However, there are some deeper concepts to explore such as the emotions felt by the narrator toward his or herself and the city. There is a reference in the poem to children sleeping while they dream of seraphim that are fairies similar to those described in the Old Testament. But the narrator does not describe him or herself with the same happy regards. Maya explores the same message in the poem Caged Bird, the second stanza (line eight through line fourteen) tells of a captured bird that must endure chipped wings, tied feet and bars of range. Although he is not happy, he still opens his throat and sings.
In both poems, Maya Angelou explores the theme of frustration. In the poem Awakening in New York, the narrator awakens in the morning yet he or she does not feel like participating in the events of the day. Feeling of neglect and self-uselessness are conveyed here. Maya has explained so much about the person who seems disengaged from life even within the most exciting place to be; that is in New York City. The narrator has a turbulent past, perhaps he or she wishes to go back to a state of being innocent, and feels useless within New York.
Maya uses the poem Caged Bird to bring out the theme of frustration in the sense that the third and the fifth stanzas are identical. Lines two, four and six and lines five and seven of these identical stanzas rhymes. This repeated verse tells more of the song of the freedom thrilled by the Caged Bird. Though frustrated and his heart being fearful as well as his longings unmet, the bird goes on to sing of liberty. The aspect of comparison of two birds; the caged bird and the free bird also continues in the fourth stanza. The free bird enjoys the breeze, trees, winds, law, sky and the fat worms while the caged bird with his wings still dipped and his feet still tied continues to open his throat and sing to release the outpouring of feelings, his frustration, his sorrow, and despair.
Moreover, Maya Angelo has contrasted the two poems. She has used the repetition of stanzas in the poem Caged Bird to create rhythm and musicality in the poems. She also uses different rhyming words like trill, hill and still for the same effect. However, in the poem awaking in New York, Maya has not explored the aspect of repetition.
In addition to this, Maya uses symbolism to bring out the message in both poems. In the poem Caged Bird, the free bird and the caged birds are symbols. This poem is not really about birds, it is about people. The free bird represents a free person, someone who has the freedom to pursue their ambitions while the caged bird is a slave or a prisoner. The narrator in the poem Awaking in New York feels like a prisoner, one who is trapped in the feeling of neglect and self-uselessness. Also, the wind is a symbol of turbulence the narrator feels from within and the sense of the inner conflict. Maya compares t...