“Sympathy” Summary

“Sympathy” Themes

• 

  Oppression and the Longing to be Free

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sympathy”

• Lines 1-7

  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,
  And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
  I know what the caged bird feels!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 8-14

  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
  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!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 15-21

  I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
  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—
  I know why the caged bird sings!

  

  

  

  

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“Sympathy” Symbols

• 

  The Caged Bird

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“Sympathy” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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“Sympathy” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Alas
• Upland slopes
• Springing
• Opes
• Perfume
• Chalice
• Fain
• Bough
• Keener sting
• Ah me
• Bosom
• Carol

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sympathy”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Sympathy” Speaker

“Sympathy” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Sympathy”

More “Sympathy” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Out Loud — Listen to influential poet Maya Angelou reciting the poem that gave her autobiography its title.

  • Dunbar's Life and Legacy — Learn more about Paul Laurence Dunbar's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.

  • More Poems by Dunbar — Dive into more of the poet's work, including the collection in which this poem was published.

  • A Dunbar Podcast — Listen to a Princeton Ideas Podcast episode on the life and work of the poet.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar

  • We Wear the Mask