Sympathy Poem Lesson

The speaker (or author) of the poem is:

• Paul Laurence Dunbar

• Maya Angelou

• A bird in a cage

Dunbar compares himself (a black man) to a bird in a cage, without using like or as. The bird is a ____________ for his wish for freedom.

• Metaphor

• Similie

• Personification

• Allusion

In lines 2-4 in the first stanza Dunbar describes the world outside the cage as "when the sun burns bright on upland slopes, when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, and the river flows like a stream of glass. We can infer the world outside the cage is

• Peaceful

• Dangerous

• Bad for Birds

• Free

In the second stanza, the caged bird "beats its wings/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars." This description supports the idea that the tone of the poem is ___________

• Violent

• Peaceful and Calm

• Hopeful

In the last stanza, the speaker writes: "I know why the caged bird sings, ah me/when his wing is bruised and bosom sore/when he beats his bars he would be free/a plea to Heaven upward he flings. We can infer the speaker feels _________ for the bird and understands him.

• Sympathy

• Anger

• Anger

• Happiness

The title of the poem Sympathy refers to:

• How sad the author is that his bird died

• How the author understands the bird and his wish for freedom

• How sad the poem is

The theme or big idea in this poem is:

• Freedom

• Sympathy

• Empathy