In the poem "Sympathy," what does the language Dunbar uses in Stanza 3-words such as beats, plea, and flings-convey to readers?
the bird's sense of triumph and victory the bird's desperation and despair the bird's acceptance of its sad fate the bird's confusion over its situation
<em>This is the first time that the speaker tells us explicitly why the caged bird is singing: it wants to be "free." This sets up freedom as an important idea in the poem. This is a poem about a bird wanting, but not being able, to get free.</em>
plea and flings-
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!
<em>We find out here that the bird's song isn't a song at all (though it sounds like it). It's a "prayer" and a "plea" that the bird sends to heaven.
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<em>So, what is the bird praying for? It's praying for freedom, of course. After all, in the previous lines, the speaker had told us that the bird "would be free"—that is, it wants freedom.
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<em>So when the speaker ends the poem with the words "I know why the caged bird sings!" he's emphasizing to us that he identifies with the bird's suffering, and also with its desire for freedom. This poem is as much about the speaker as it is about the bird whose suffering he describes.</em>
<em>A quick look back at this stanza tells us that the rhyme scheme holds with the previous stanzas. (See "Form and Meter" for more.) Like any prison, things are locked-down and orderly in this poem.</em>
