The Free Bird and The Cage BirdRabindranath Tagore

Vocabulary Words

• Decree – Mandate, Legal Order• Perched – Sit atop of• Intense – forceful , severe , passionate• Woodlands – land covered with

woods or trees• Tame – domesticated , compliant• Yearning – desire strongly

The Free Bird and The Cage Bird

The tame bird was in a cage,The free bird was in the forest.

They met when the time came,It was a decree of fate. The free bird cries,"O my love, let us fly to the wood."

The cage bird whispers, "Come hither, let us both live in the cage."Says the free bird, "Among bars, where is there room to spread one's wings?""Alas," cries the caged bird, "I should not know where to sit perched in the sky."

The free bird cries, "My darling, sing the songs of the woodlands."The cage bird sings, "Sit by my side, I'll teach you the speech of the learned."The forest bird cries, "No, ah no! songs can never be taught."The cage bird says, "Alas for me, I know not the songs of the woodlands."

There love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing to wing.Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to know each other.They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, "Come closer, my love!"

The free bird cries, "It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of the cage."The cage bird whispers, "Alas, my wings are powerless and dead."

I. Questions

What is the poem all about?It is about the love of two birds that

can’t be together because the free bird is afraid to be stuck in the cage and the wings of the tame bird are powerless and dead. And it is about the love of two birds with many differences.

What is the lesson in the story?The story wants to teach us that

whenever we fall in love we must be ready for any consequences we might deal with, and the sacrifices that we need to do.

II. Figurative Language

The figurative language used are:Personification

The free bird cries.The cage bird whispers.The forest bird sings.

HyperboleI should not know where to sit perched in

the sky.

III. Symbolisms

SymbolismsThe free bird and cage bird in the poem

symbolizes two lovers. The free bird is the young man and the cage bird is the young girl the cage in the story symbolizes as the parents of the girl.