Explore the ways in which the poets use language to portray themes in two of the poems studied - "Song to the Men of England" and "Caged Bird"

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Q: Explore the ways in which the poets use language to portray themes in two of the poems studied

Some of the main themes of “Caged Bird” and “Song to the Men of England” are lack of freedom, poverty, and social injustice. “Caged Bird” is written by Maya Angelou and the poem tells the story of a bird inside a cage, wishing to fly around the green fields. “Song to the Men of England” is written by Percy Bysshe Shelley and tells the story of a man who tells the working-class people in England that they must not let the tyrants abuse them, they need to be free. In this essay I will explore the features the poets use to explore these themes.

In “Song to the Men of England”, the poet uses a metaphor to compare the tyrants to bees – drones, defined as non-working, male honey-bees.

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Wherefore feed, and clothe, and save,

“From the cradle to the grave,

Those ungrateful drones who would

Drain your sweat – nay, drink your blood?”

 This kind of bee doesn’t have a sting so this could mean that if the ordinary people in England stay united, the powerful tyrants can’t harm them (like bees that fly around, disturbing, but without a sting to harm anyone).

In “Caged Bird”, Maya Angelou uses a metaphor of a bird inside a cage. That is the main metaphor, because the whole poem is a metaphor itself. A metaphor of slavery, in which the bird ...

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