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 cling10 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! the poet uses the bird, the cage, and the woodland scenes a) as a technique to develop the overall tone of the poem. b) as devices to foreshadow the events recalled in the rest of the poem. c) to show the frustration that comes with wanting something you cannot have. d) to show the beauty of the coming of spring after a harsh and unforgiving winter.