Study Plan
Skills Practice
Sympathy
Paul Laurence Dunbar
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing
grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,5
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling 10
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing:
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting-
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 15
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he 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-20
I know why the caged bird sings!
column.
simile repetition alliteration personificati
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars:
::
When his wing is bruised and his
bosom sore,--
⠀⠀
And a pain still throbs in the old, old
scars
And the river flows like a stream of
glass;
When the wind stirs soft through the
springing grass,
⠀⠀
When he beats his bars and he would
be free; my