Literary devices are tools used by writers to present their ideas, feelings, and emotions. They also make the poem and stories appealing to the readers. Paul Lawrence Dunbar has used various literary devices to enhance the intended impacts of his poem. Some of the major literary devices have been analyzed below.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, āWhen the sun is bright on the upland slopesā, āAnd the river flows like a stream of glassā and āI know why he beats his wing.āAssonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /o/ in āAnd a pain still throbs in the old, old scarsā and the sound of /i/ in āI know why the caged bird beats his wing.āSimile: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between different persons and objects by using ālikeā or āasā. For example, the flowing river is compared with the stream of glass in the fourth line, āAnd the river flows like a stream of glass.āAlliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sounds of /h/ and /b/ in āWhen he beats his bars and he would be freeā.Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from literal meanings. The caged bird symbolizes African Americans desperate for freedom from slavery. Cage stands for various tactics white people used to block their ways to freedom.Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects different in nature. There is an extended metaphor of bird used in this poem. Here the caged bird is an entire African-American community in slavery.Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, the words āI know what the caged birds feelā as repeated to express the poetās agony of his people.