I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
why maya angelou tittle the I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRDS SINGS
for our group reporting
for our group reporting
When selecting a title, Angelou turned to Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African-American poet whose works she had admired for years. Jazz vocalist and civil rights activist Abbey Lincoln suggested the title.[18] With Shakespeare, Angelou has credited Dunbar with forming her "writing ambition".[19] The title of the book comes from the third stanza of his poem "Sympathy":[20]
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings –
I know why the caged bird sings.[21]
This is the third stanza of a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet whom Angelou admired greatly. The poem is entitle "Sympathy."
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