American Literature / Unit 12 AML 1127 short lesson, about 20 seconds
"Sympathy" and the Caged Bird
Captions available
The idea
"Sympathy" says the speaker knows why the caged bird sings, and that the song is not a carol of joy but a prayer flung from the heart's deep core. A later writer borrowed the image for a book title.
In practice
A prayer, not a carol.
Where people slip
The later borrowing has almost swallowed the poem.
Your place on the trail
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