The Narrator
Many of Maya Angelou's poems are from her own perspective. Her poetry has been criticized as being "too public," meaning it only has the desired effect when read by Angelou out loud. This characteristic of her work ties her to the voice of her narrator: when she writes "I," she generally means herself. The narrator, Angelou, is a strong, fiercely spirited woman with a sense of duty and a will to fight the injustice she perceives to be holding her down. Her poems deal with gender discrimination, racial injustice, and despair, but her powerful voice shines through the darkness, offering a way to combat these oppressions.
The Caged Bird and the Free Bird ("Caged Bird")
Angelou's poem "The Caged Bird" is unusual among her poems in that it has actually (albeit symbolic) characters rather than the vague pronouns "you" and "I." There are two characters in the poem: the free bird and the caged bird. The free bird is an example of the free, un-oppressed person in society who has full opportunities to explore and thrive. The caged bird, on the other hand, represents the person who is constrained by society: the African-American, or the woman, or the ostracized person. Some critics have also interpreted the caged bird to be Angelou herself, writing about the horrors of being trapped in sexual abuse.
The Man ("California Prodigal")
Angelou's poem "California Prodigal" has another character, one who cannot be an image of herself because he's a man. This man lives alone in an old house, colored with the phantasms of the past, nestled in the hills of "the ghosted land." This man lives contentedly, watching the flora around his house explode with growth and participating in "Activity, music, / a generosity of graces."
