Sympathy
I know what the caged bird feels, alas!When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,And the river flows like a stream of glass;When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wingTill its blood is red on the cruel bars;For he must fly back to his perch and clingWhen he fain would be on the bough a-swing;And a pain still throbs in the old, old scarsAnd they pulse again with a keener sting--I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--When he beats his bars and he would be free;It is not a carol of joy or glee,But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--I know why the caged bird sings!
Words in this poem
- caged a.
- Confined in, or as in, a cage; like a cage or prison.
- chalice n.
- A cup or bowl; especially, the cup used in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. [OR. chalis, calice, OF. chalice, calice, F. calice, fr. L. calix, akin to Gr. helmet. Cf. Calice, Calyx.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- keener n.
- A professional mourner who wails at a funeral. [Ireland]
- carol v. t.
- To praise or celebrate in song.
- glee n.
- Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sympathy is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sympathy, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/sympathy.html, id L00612.
Form and metre
Sympathy is 21 lines in 3 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAABCC, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.5 syllables. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAABCC alasA · slopesB · grassA · glassA · opesB · stealsC · feelsC
- 2 ABAABAA wingA · barsB · clingA · swingA · scarsB · stingA · wingA
- 3 ABAABCC meA · soreB · freeA · gleeA · coreB · flingsC · singsC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I know what the caged bird feels, alas! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And the river flows like a stream of glass; | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, | 10 | ·········· |
| And the faint perfume from its chalice steals-- | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| I know what the caged bird feels! | 8 | ·····˘·· |
| I know why the caged bird beats his wing | 9 | ········· |
| Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; | 9 | ·······/· |
| For he must fly back to his perch and cling | 10 | ·········· |
| When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; | 10 | ·········· |
| And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars | 10 | ·········· |
| And they pulse again with a keener sting-- | 10 | ···˘/··/˘· |
| I know why he beats his wing! | 7 | ······· |
| I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, | 9 | ········· |
| When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,-- | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When he beats his bars and he would be free; | 10 | ·········· |
| It is not a carol of joy or glee, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, | 11 | ··········· |
| But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-- | 10 | ····/˘·/·· |
| I know why the caged bird sings! | 8 | ·····˘·· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.