Caged Bird and Sympathy Poems

According to the speaker in “Sympathy,” how does the caged bird feel?

• bright, happy, perfumed

• alarmed, shamed, fearful

• constrained, oppressed, imprisoned

• faint, clinging, ill

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which of the following BEST explains the title “Sympathy”?

• The speaker feels bad for the caged bird because of its injuries.

• The speaker also shares the caged bird’s desire for freedom.

• The speaker is critical of the caged bird’s reasons for singing.

• The speaker admires the caged bird’s courage.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which of the following BEST summarizes lines 10-11 in "Sympathy"?

• The bird stays in his cage because his injuries might cause him to faint.

• The bird stays on his perch because he is afraid of the wind.

• The bird must return to the perch when he would rather be on a swing.

• The bird has to stay in the cage when he would rather be perched on a swinging tree branch.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Lines 12-14 of “Sympathy” suggest that...

• the bird is so crippled it will never be able to enjoy freedom.

• the bird has not given up hope despite a lifetime of captivity.

• as the bird gets older, its desire for freedom increases. (

• the bird could enjoy its captivity if only it would stop fighting.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Dunbar compares the caged bird’s song to a ...

• lullaby

• symphony

• prayer

• carol of joy

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

In “Caged Bird,” how many stanzas are devoted to the experience of the caged bird?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

In this poem, Angelou is comparing and contrasting...

• a free bird to a caged bird.

• a sympathetic bird to a songbird.

• the bird in her poem with the bird in “Sympathy.”

• pet birds and birds in a zoo.

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

What is the most likely reason Angelou chose this title for her poem?

• The poem is her critique of Dunbar’s “Sympathy.”

• Like Dunbar, she enjoys studying birds.

• The poem is her way of explaining something that cannot be fully understood.

• Like Dunbar, she writes to express her own desire for freedom

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

The title of Maya Angelou’s poem refers to an image in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem. This is an example of

• a simile

• irony

• an allusion

• plagiarism

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

Which of the following lines of "Caged Birdmost closely parallels the meaning of lines 12-14 of “Sympathy”?

• lines 1-2

• lines 15-18

• lines 23-24

• lines 35-38

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.7

CCSS.RI.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.11-12.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7