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Literary Devices
Definition of Allusion
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals... read full definition
In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to... read full definition
Allusions
Explanation and Analysis—Sympathy:
The title of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an allusion to the final stanza of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem "Sympathy." In the poem, Dunbar places himself in the position of a caged bird, beginning the first stanza with the statement that "I know what the caged bird feels, alas!" In the second stanza, Dunbar relates his experiences with oppression as a Black man living in America to that of the caged bird, sympathizing with the bird's need to resist. He begins this second stanza with the lines, "I know why the caged bird beats his wing / Till its blood is red on the cruel bars," indirectly comparing his own freedom struggle—and the Black community's freedom struggle—to the bird's natural impulse to resist imprisonment.
In the final stanza, Dunbar begins and ends with the phrase Angelou alludes to in her novel title: "I know why the caged bird sings." In the stanza, Dunbar provides an unconventional context for the caged bird's song, claiming that when the bird "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—." The bird's song is not a sign of happiness or cheer, as one might assume. On the contrary, Dunbar equates the bird's song with a cry for help, projecting onto that bird his own desperate wish to be free of structural racism.
Related Themes:
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Commandments:
In the following passage from Chapter 5, Angelou makes an allusion to the Bible during a discussion about her grandmother, a devoutly religious woman:
"Thou shall not be dirty" and "Thou shall not be impudent" were the two commandments of Grandmother Henderson upon which hung our total salvation.
This excerpt alludes specifically to the Ten Commandments, a series of rules handed down from God to the ancient Israelites in the book of Exodus: "And God spoke all these words: 'I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below'" (Exodus 20:1-3, New International Version). The verse continues to list multiple "commandments," communicated to the Israelites via the prophet Moses.
Momma is a deeply religious person and also the principal authority figure in Angelou and her brother's lives. Angelou demonstrates this through her use of biblical allusion in this passage, positioning Momma as a God-like figure in her childhood memory, issuing commands from on high. Interestingly, Momma's commandments are significantly less serious in tone than God's. Where God bans idolatry, adultery, and murder, Momma's principle offenses are dirtiness and impudence—suggesting that Angelou's allusion here is a bit tongue-in-cheek and ironic.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Virgin Mary:
In the following passage from Chapter 10, Angelou attempts to unpack her relationship with her biological mother, whom she exalts but does not understand. To illustrate the nature of this relationship, Angelou defaults to religious language, both alluding to the Bible and comparing her mother to the Virgin Mary:
I could never put my finger on her realness. . . . I thought [my mother] looked just like the Virgin Mary. But what mother and daughter understand each other, or even have the sympathy for each other's lack of understanding? Mother had prepared a place for us, and we went to it gratefully.
In the passage above, Angelou states that her mother had "prepared a place" for herself and Bailey, to which they "went [. . .] gratefully." The phrase "prepared a place for" is an allusion to the Bible's New Testament, specifically John 14:3. The Bible verse in question reads: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (King James Version). Jesus is the one speaking in this verse, asserting that he will go ahead to "prepare a place" for those who believe in him in heaven. In Angelou's analogy, it is her mother that "prepares a place" for her. Angelou idolizes her mother, literally replacing God with her in the above allusion. In a similar vein, Angelou employs simile to compare her mother to the Virgin Mary. In her child's mind, Vivian Baxter is perfect, sinless.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Camel and Needle:
In Chapter 12, Angelou describes her harrowing experience with penetrative sexual assault as an eight-year-old. In the following excerpt from that chapter, Angelou utilizes biblical allusion and metaphor to characterize her experience:
Then there was the pain. A breaking and entering when even the senses are torn apart. The act of rape on an eight-year-old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can't. The child gives, because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot.
In the above excerpt, Angelou uses metaphor to compare herself and Mr. Freeman to a "needle" and a "camel," respectively. This metaphor must be understood within the context of Matthew 19:23-24, the Bible verse to which Angelou's statement alludes. In this verse, Jesus presents an analogy to his disciples, instructing them on wealth's moral pitfalls: "Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God'" (New International Version).
In Matthew, Jesus presents the idea of a "camel" going through "the eye of a needle" as inconceivable, using an analogy to demonstrate the near impossibility of immoral rich people entering heaven. Angelou repurposes this metaphor: she is the needle, forced to give beyond her limits because Mr. Freeman, the camel, cannot control himself or his pedophilic impulses.
Related Themes:
