WorksheetsI know why the caged bird sings
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
1. What does the caged bird represent?
African Americans
a bird in a cage... dah!
White Americans
2. What does the free bird represent?
freedom
the freedom the white man enjoys
a bird in the fields.. silly !
3. What is this poem mainly about?
love and happiness
the pains and struggles of African Americans
the importance of music and singing
4. The poem alternates between describing the free bird and the caged bird. This structure emphasizes
how similar freedom and slavery are
the contrast of being free and being confined
why birds should be free
5. Which line of the poem shows that the caged bird has never been free?
“his wings are clipped and / his feet are tied / so he opens his throat to sing.” (lines 12–14)
“his tune is heard / on the distant hill / for the caged bird / sings for freedom.” (lines 19–22)
“The caged bird sings / with a fearful trill / of things unknown / but longed for still” (lines 31–34)
6. What does the caged bird’s singing reveal about him?
he is using the only way of resistance left for him
he loves singing
he is better at singing than the free bird
7. Read these lines from the poem.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
What do these lines reveal about the caged bird?
the caged bird is satisfied with his condition
the caged bird is angry at his condition
the caged bird has problems flying
8. In stanza 2, the only rhyming words are ____________ and _________.
stalks and through
sing and tied
rage and cage
9. What do the rhyming words rage and cage in stanza 2 emphasize?
the anger that can accompany a lack of freedom
the sadness that can accompany a lack of freedom
that it is possible to feel free even in a cage
10. The content of stanza 3 is repeated in stanza 6. This repetition reveals that the bird
has resigned himself to a captive life.
is now content, understanding that life in the cage is safer.
has never known freedom, but understands what it is and hopes for it.
