Student Worksheet: Caged Bird

The poem Caged Bird by Maya Angelou happens to be the first poem listed as the set poem for Cambridge O Level Literature in English 2010 syllabus for 2020 and 2021, Paper 1. This poem can be found in Songs of Ourselves  Volume 1, Part 3.

The world that we breathe in today has had many contrasting firsts: we have had bid adieu to apartheid , yet have chosen leaders who would like to build ‘ huge ‘ ‘walls’. We have had gross injustice meted out to people lower in the power hierarchy and yet, there are ubiquitous campaigns like # me-too that would hold no bar to name the corrupted tools of power.

Hence, a teacher of Caged Bird in this day and age does not have to talk about merely the social pressures on the African-Americans and the Civil Rights Movement of 1966: the canvas and the ‘sky ‘ for the discussion and several simultaneous interpretations is unimaginably expansive.

I hope this student worksheet will help identify the language features of this fantastic poem by Maya Angelou. This worksheet has been designed to trace the poem from the first impression right through the form and structure while leading to the post reflective thematic analysis. The exam style questions in the end could be tackled as in-class or home assignments to prepare for the assessment.

Student Worksheet Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

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via A taste of Trump… — English teaching resources

What If…

It will be a fearless, mindless, spineless lie if I say I have  never missed being with my rags and riches .

For ages, some conflicting emotions gave many a sleepless nights, when I found my throat parched, my soul weary and my eyes watery.

The fact that I had left an integral, vital ,incredible part of my life in a yonder-land was far from my threshold of acceptance. I was ready to deny access to any thought that might occur-just-by-the-way , when I was a different person.

A had been , merely.

Do I identify myself in the mirror which reflects an opportunist , who sold her soul to gain some pieces of bread? Ahh, the BREAD! The survivor’s only excuse to kill for the sustenance of the body.

But what about the soul, which needs to be clothed in fancy even if the body is thread-bare? I do wear my attire , that fits snugly and  nicely. I live in a suburban delight of a maintained abode. The neighborhood is no short of a spectacle of a serene heavenly abode.

Yet…ah, the all so consuming yet,..

The bygone places and the kindred souls to dwell upon , shall never be WON AGAIN, as there is still a lot that DWELLS UPON ME !

Sample paper : O Level Literature in English 2010/12

Mocks Assessment class XI 2012-13

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O Level Literature in English: What Are the Questions Actually Asking?

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Deconstruction of the Questions

Words   from Question	What   You Have to Do
Explore   the ways in which Catherine Linton and Hareton are presented in this extract.	The   instruction in this passage-based question is to ‘explore’, or to examine in   detail. There is no requirement to move outside the extract. The focus is on   how two characters are presented by the novelist in the given circumstances.Make sure you present the location and the brief summary of events leading to this moment, in no more than 50 words.
What   makes this such an exciting moment inthe   novel?	This   passage-based question relates to a scene from Wuthering Heights and   ‘this’ refers to the passage. The main focus of any response should be on the   detail of the passage itself: how does the writer make the moment an exciting   one? The phrase ‘moment in the novel’ indicates that some consideration   needs to be given to the episode’s significance in the overallnovel.   But the main concern remains to analyze the detail of the passage.
In   what ways do you think the poet makesvivid   the power of  her emotions  in Browning’s Sonnet 43	This   question includes the phrase ‘do you think’ as a reminder to you to give your   own response to the poem. The main focus of the question is on the‘ways’   in which the poet ‘makes’ her topic ‘vivid’. A really good response will show   how she uses language, structure and form to achieve her effects.
How   does Bronte make Heathcliff’s revenge seem  seem so just/unjust?	The   focus on the writing is clear from theopening   ‘How does Bronte make…?’So a clear examination of events leading to Heathcliff emerging as a vindictive character is required.
What   makes  Julius Caesar have such a dramatically compelling plot?	The   focus on the form (drama) is made clear in the phrase ‘dramatically   compelling’. How does the playwright employ various dramatic devices ( such as earlier onset of conflict, fickleness of mob, dramatic irony, soliloquy) ? What is the likely effect on the Elizabethan audience?What do you   think?
To   what extent does/ does not  Bronte make   yousympathise   with Heathcliff?	The   question requires you to explore the methods used by Bronte in presenting   this character.The   opening ‘To what extent’ might lead to answers which find an interpretaion that is very sympathetic, not   sympathetic at all, or both at different points in the novel. The best   approach here would be to sift the evidence very carefully before coming to a   settled view.The best apprach could be a chronological evaluation of events leading to the state of Heathcliff , as we see him in the first chapter of the novel.
Both   a hero and a kind of villain.How   far do you agree with this view ofHeathcliff?	The   ‘How far do you agree?’ opening to this question is an invitation for you to   consider in detail the evidence for both parts of the prompt – ‘hero’ and   ‘kind of villain’ –before reaching your final verdict.Remember to adopt either an Argumentative stance or a discursive one. If you feel your response seriously inclined towards ‘ a villian’, do mention the counter arugument with a ‘ However’.
You   are Joseph /Hastings / Buckingham / Isabella…Write   your thoughts.	Empathic   question: You have to write as if the character at the time specified in the   question. You must root your answer clearly in the world of the play and   not stray too far from it. You must write in a voice that is clearly   recognizable for the character.