Sympathy by 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,
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
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,
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!
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!
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!
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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A lot of poetry during the Harlem Renaissance addressed African American concerns and issues. These African American poets use repetitive structure that resembles that of jazz or blues music.
In the poem above by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) , the poet discusses how he feels being African American in a "white" society. He claims that he knows just how a caged bird feels, trapped, wanting to escape, feeling trapped as an African American in this time period. The structure of three stanzas of the poem are quite similar and the repetition of phrases and sounds such as "I know" and "-ore", respectively, illustrate repetition as a characteristic of the poems in the Harlem Renaissance. The language of the poem becomes more "serious" as the poem progresses, bringing to light the insecurities of most African Americans at the time.
In conclusion, the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar most definitely fits the style of poetry of its literary period.
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