Excerpt from: sympathy
paul laurence dunbar

i know what the caged bird feels, alas!
when the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
and the river flows like a stream of glass;
when the first bird sings and the first bud opes, 5
and the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
i know what the caged bird feels!
i know why the caged bird beats his wing
till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
for he must fly back to his perch and cling 10
when he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
and a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
and they pulse again with a keener sting--
i know why he beats his wing!
i know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 15
when his wing is bruised and his bosom
when he 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-- 20
i know why the caged bird sings!

which statement cites direct evidence from the passage to support its meaning most effectively?
a) dunbar claims that the bird is not in a real cage at all and is actually "free."
b) paul dunbar's poem expresses great sadness and longing for finding romantic love.
c) paul dunbar uses the metaphor of a bird that is in a cage to describe how others feel.
d) dunbar identifies strongly with a trapped animal: "i know what the caged bird feels, alas! ".