Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- What's the relationship between the speaker and the bird in this poem? Why does the speaker identify with the bird?
- Why is this poem written in three stanzas?
- What is the purpose of the natural imagery in this poem? How does the speaker use nature to make his point about the bird's (and his) plight?
- What does the "cage" in the poem represent?
- Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet. Does this change our understanding of the poem? If so, how so?