Assignment for autobiography

Self Reflection through Angelou Poetry deals with the deepest emotions- it seeks to capture in a few linguistic symbols the realities of life , sweet or brutal it may be Maya Angelou 's poem , I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings ' is a representation of her life , an attempt to communicate in a lyric the agony of a caged soul

Through the use of lyrical imagery that is further enhanced with a touch of realism , Angelou is able to portray the difficulties and the boundaries that she had experienced during her childhood . Since

the poem in its very essence is a form of an autobiographical writing or a portrait poem , the poet was able to communicate her agony through the use of certain metaphors that on a close analysis are also very accurate symbols of the concepts that she is emphasizing

The poem provides a direct comparison between a free and a caged bird The bird is used by Angelou to represent an ideal concept that also on the other hand could be used to represent her state of affairs given the context of which the poem was written . The bird is a perfect metaphor to use to signify the idea of free will and the platonic concept of freedom . The bird being described to be stalking inside a narrow cage , behind the bars of rage ' and has it wings clipped perfectly describes Angelou 's childhood- the poet was a victim of rape broken family , poverty , and other deprivations of the basic rights of a child such as education and family custody . The latter part of the poem then describes the passion of the poet for freedom . Again the bird as a universal symbol for independence cries behind its cage ' for its dreams ' despite of the harsh reality that it is living in . The poet describes such as grave of dreams , nightmare ' and distant hill . Again , this signifies the poet 's experience during her childhood life , such metaphors describe the society that abandoned and ravaged her

A good autobiographical writing , as deducing from the techniques used by Angelou on her poetry , should be able to focus on a very important aspect of one 's life . An autobiographical writing should be able to capture in a few words the intense emotions and passion of an author that is enclaved within his or her particular slice of life . Similarly it must reflect one 's sincerity and honesty that could be made evident on the choice of words and consequently the weaving of phrases and sentences . The words should flow as if they are part of a one body- similar to music once an autobiographical writing or a poem is read , it should have a perfect harmony . It is also very relevant that the writing should mirror the personality of the author . One should not try to write something that does not reflect his or her true essence because the very nature of poetry should be self-expression and not mimicry . Postmodern approach to poetry...